The Stockholm Syndrome
by dees1
Summary: Clark has taken on the persona of Kal and fled to Metropolis to escape all the hurt and pain he has caused his loved ones back in Smallville. Now under the influence of Morgan Edge, he meets Lois Lane in a most unexpected way...
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Stockholm Syndrome

Pairing:; Kal/Lois, Clark/Lois  
>Spoilers: Set in 3 month gap between season 2-3 (Exodus and Exile). It goes AU and then jumps to season 4 time-frame.  
>Rating – PG13<p>

Plot:

Clark has taken on the persona of Kal and fled to Metropolis to escape all the hurt and pain he has caused his loved ones back in Smallville. Now under the influence of Morgan Edge, he meets Lois Lane in a most unexpected way with even more unexpected consequences...

Prologue (Lois)

Lois had been looking forward to this posting all summer but some news had curbed her enthusiasm totally. Her father, General Sam Lane had volunteered to take charge at Fort Ryan to root out the problems which were threatening to envelope it.

"I cannot believe that drugs have been allowed to become endemic within the US Army. Well you know what, Lo, I am not going to allow it happen."

"What are you going to do about it, daddy?" Lois asked as they drove over the Kansas Border on the way to his new posting and her new home for the next few months.

"I am going to take the fight back to the drug dealers if I have to. It has always given me great pride to serve for my country and I am gonna make sure the troops here feel the same way by the time I leave." he announced.

"Now I need you to watch out for yourself on this one." he continued.

"Don't worry, Wes will look out for me." Lois replied, thinking of her boyfriend who just happened to be based at Fort Ryan.

Her romance with Wes Keenan had taken her by surprise. He was a such a strong personality – gorgeous, decisive and macho, all in one – and perhaps most importantly for the first time ever her father approved of him.

"I am sure he will. You know I like Wes, but I do not want you getting in a serious relationship at this age. You have your schooling to think about."

"Ok, daddy. You can trust me not to get into any trouble. Anyway remember I turn 18 on the 17th August – less than 3 weeks away I believe." she explained.

"Lo, remember the legal drinking age is 21 years. I am still not convinced you did not have something to do with setting up that illegal gambling and drinking den on the last base."

She smiled. "You have no faith in me, do you?"

The first week back with Wes had been great. It was as though they had never been apart. But then the rumours started. Her name was Jodi and she was an army bomb disposal expert who had been based at Fort Ryan just before Lois and the General arrived.

Lois was told by a number of independent sources that Wes and Jodi had struck up a very 'close' friendship. When she confronted him about it, he denied it. Eventually after indisputable evidence came to light including Jodi's request for a transfer to the base, Lois decided to call it quits.

She told her father the news but he was preoccupied with the events of the past few days. His intense questioning of some of the suspected troops involved in drug dealing had identified the kingpin of the gang as being a organised crime boss known as Morgan Edge who ruled the Metropolis underworld with an iron fist.

He had immediately passed this information over to the Metropolis Police Department, who, as a result tracked down some of his main henchman. A fire fight ensued leading to the death of two Edge's main dealers. The result was Edge declaring war on the police and other people involved. Even more worrying was some information gleamed from sources within Edge's gang – the main target for revenge was General Lane himself.

"Lois, I am sorry about Wes but you still cannot meet Chloe in the city. Firstly you are underage and secondly you may be a target for Edge's men."

"They do not know who I am." She fired back smugly.

"Lo, have you seen this morning's paper. One of Edge's men took out three cop cars with some sort of new heat weapon, as well as somehow managing to survive a barrage of bullets from the guns of 20 police officers."

Lois looked down to see a picture of a masked man on the front of the Daily Planet newspaper. Surrounding him were burnt out wreckage of police cars.

"There is no way I am going to spend my 18th birthday on the base. This is my first time in Metropolis and I haven't even managed to catch up with Chloe yet."

"Chloe can come to the base. I will get her a pass." Sam replied.

Lois knew she had to pretend to back down even though secretly she had no intention of staying on the base tomorrow night...

Prologue (Clark/Kal)

The last few months in Metropolis had been a mind blowing, living on the edge experience. It was not until now that he knew how powerful he could be and was in awe of his own potential. He could do anything he wanted and he did not have to answer to anyone; in fact it was the opposite, people were starting to answer to him. How many seventeen year olds could live like this.

He looked down at the bag of cash lying by the side of the bed and pondered whether to take Morgan Edge up on his offer of a job. Maybe working for one of the biggest crime bosses in Metropolis would buy him even more respect around this town and more to the point make him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

He headed to the club where he had VIP status, and was shocked when he saw Lana at the other end of the bar.

Lana rushed up to him and hugged him."Clark! I have been worried about you for three months and you've been hanging around in nightclub?"

"You're so cute when you're angry. Lana, if you start talking about Hicksville, you're gonna be on the next bus going back. Now I thought you were here to have some fun." he kissed her to reinforce his point. She responded but with hesitancy.

Lana pulled away. "You know you're right. Let's have some fun. I am just going to freshen up first."

Clark could tell when Lana was hiding something so moments later he decided to follow her and he found her on her cell in the back alley.

Clark grabbed the phone off her. "Who are you talking to? Who's this?"

"Clark, it's me." he heard his father's voice at the other end of the line.

"Jonathan. How's the farm?" he asked coldly with an impersonal tone.

" Clark, your mother and I love you very much and we want you to come home."

Clark was becoming angry. " Is that right? Hey, what about not dwelling on the past and making a fresh new start? Come on, you can admit it. You're happier I'm gone."

"Son, that's not true." Jonathan protested.

"I'm not your son! And you're not my parents, you never have been! You never will be!" he shouted down the phone.

Lana pleaded with him. "Clark, what is the matter with you? Your parents love you! I love you."

:"Do you always betray the people you love?" he gave the cell back to her and walked off calmly.

Clark left a message with the bartender that he wanted to talk to Morgan Edge. Five minutes later a car whisked him away to an office on the seedy end of town.

Morgan poured him a drink of scotch. "I'm glad you decided to consider my offer. But why the change of heart?"

"My past is catching up to my present. I need to disappear." Clark explained.

Morgan smiled at him "Free tonight?"

"My calendar just opened up." Clark took a seat and took a swig of the drink.

This is an account in the Grand Cayman. Here's how much is waiting for you." Morgan showed him the bank statement.

Clark sneered. * "That's a serious amount of zeroes."

"It's a serious job. I need you to take care of the daughter of General Sam Lane. She is called Lois Lane and she is coming to town tonight to celebrate her birthday. I want you to make sure she never makes it to the celebration." he showed him a photo of her.

"So basically you want me to kidnap an army brat? A cute army brat!" Kal looked at the photo.

"Will that be a problem?"

"No. It'll be my pleasure. And don't worry I will look after her."

Morgan smiled. "What you do with her is your business, just keep her out of the way long enough for me to get to her father. If she becomes caught in the crossfire and ends up a casualty then so be it."


	2. Chapter 2

"But Ms Lane, the General has said under no circumstances are you to be let off the base. I believe your cousin Miss Chloe Sullivan is due soon, so why don't you just wait." The rookie soldier on the checkpoint stated nervously.

"Matt, that is what the M stands for, isn't it?" Lois started her spiel. "My cousin has just rang and informed me that she has broken down five minutes down the road. As I know a bit about cars, I told her I would go and give her a hand."

"I'll come with you, Miss Lane."

"With over 400 soldiers to guard, I don't think my father would take a very kind view of that idea." she replied.

"Okay, but if you are not back within an hour, I will raise the alarm." Matt added.

"Ok, you have a deal." Lois said, deciding she would ring her father once she managed to get into town. She had managed to get a cab to come to pick her up, once out of sight of the base.

Forty five minutes later she had arrived in the city. "I'll be fine, daddy. I am just going to have some fun...No I won't tell you where we are going?"

Chloe had texted to say she was running late so she decided to go into the club to get a head-start on her cousin.

Clark watched an unsuspecting Lois Lane from across the street. He listened into her call to her father and realised that no one would miss her for hours. The only thing that worried him was when she used the word...'we'. He wondered if someone was meeting her. He needed to act soon.

He watched as she tried unsuccessfully to convince the burly doorman that letting her in was a good idea. She soon gave up and headed around the side alley to try and find another way in. Seconds later Clark was standing in the shadows as she approached him without realising it.

Lois sighed as she could see no sign of an entry point. She turned around to head back down the alley to wait for Chloe to turn up, but as she did, her world went black.

Clark saw her pass out as he placed the hood over her head and managed to catch her before she ended up on the ground. He scooped her up and sped off. He stopped outside the Metropolis Museum, breaking the lock off the side wooden door which led to one of the storage cellars. He had been told about this place by Morgan Edge.

There was some old furniture in one of the rooms, which looked as though it dated back to the 1940's. There was a label on one of the items stating that it was from exhibition in 2002 about life in London during the Blitz in the Second World War.

He placed her on one of the beds and sat on a chair at the other side of the room waiting for her to wake up. He just hoped she would not be too much trouble. After all he would be stuck with her for at least the next few days. Luckily he had brought supplies of food and drink and it was not too cold or damp.

For the next hour he sat with her watching her sleep. It was peaceful, not a sound could be heard; this was in complete contrast to the hectic life he had led since he fled to Metropolis. Suddenly he saw her head move to one side followed by a stifled groan. He was going to put his balaclava on but then realised the light shining on her would make it impossible for her to see him sitting in the dark area behind the lamp. He could hear her heart rate speed up.

Lois kept her eyes closed as she tried to process what had happened to her. Last thing she remembered was walking down the alley to wait for Chloe, then blackness. She knew she had been snatched, but who by and now where was she? Her heart was pounding with intense fear she was feeling, immediately regretting defying her father, and wishing she was safely back on the base.

One thing her father had taught her was not to show fear to the enemy so she mustered all of her resolve to try and control her fear and emotions. She did not even know if there was anyone in the room with her. All she could see was the light shining on the old tattered bed she was lying on. She wondered if she had been hit over the head or drugged, the latter being most likely as she could not feel a blow to the head.

"Hello!" she said, waiting for a reply.

"Miss Lane, how nice of you to wake up." She heard a loud booming voice say from the other side of the room.

"What do you want?"

"That is not important right now. Just relax for now." he replied.

"You drug me or hit me over the head and you expect me to stay calm." she fired back, but then told herself to calm her tone down so she did not inflame the situation any further.

"I did not do either of those things. You blacked out." the male voice announced.

"Did I now!" she replied. She lay back down and waited for him to make the next move.

A few minutes of silence later, Clark spoke. "Do you need something to drink Miss Lane. Your lips look very dry."

"No thank you! I do not wish to accept anything from you." she exclaimed.

"Ok, if you change your mind, let me know."

She would not show any weakness to her captor, but how long could she hold out and what plans did he have for her?

Lois decided to give her kidnapper the silent treatment even though she was terrified, as it may make him give away some of the reasons why she had been taken.

Clark tried to ignore the pounding heart coming from her, but it was very difficult. He tried to focus on the money waiting for him in Cayman Islands. After all he was going to watch Miss Lane whilst Morgan Edge took care of business, he had no intention of hurting her.

She lay back down on the bed and just took in her surroundings. She wondered why she was not restrained. He probably thought she was some delicate little flower who would not try to flee, but then again he had never met anyone like Lois Lane before. She knew she could probably take him out but she needed to bide her time and become more accustomed to the environment and see what weapons he had in his arsenal.

"You're quiet!" he commented after an hour of further silence.

She looked across at the shadowy figure. "I don't know what you expect – small-talk?"

"I just thought you may be more comfortable communicating but if you don't want to talk, I suppose it is fair enough. Are you cold?" he looked at her little black dress she was wearing.

"No, I'm fine." she replied, intrigued by his concern for her well-being. Whether this would become an exploitable weakness would have to be seen.

"How old were you today?" he asked trying to break the stalemate.

"18 years old." she replied.

"And you were going drinking. Hasn't anyone told you that the legal drinking age in this city is 21 yrs old."

It seemed as though he was trying to make a joke. Was he insane? He had just take her hostage and he was trying to banter with her.

"That's never stopped me." she bragged. "How old are you?" she decided to see if he would divulge any information.

"I would rather you did not ask personal questions." he stated, as if she had touched a raw nerve.

"Ditto! Please don't ask me anything else." she retorted.

There was a silence and then suddenly, he spoke. "17!"

"17, what?" she asked.

"I am 17 years old."

"What is a 17 year old doing getting caught up in a kidnap plot? You have your whole life ahead of you." she probed.

He ignored the question. "Do you want that drink?"  
>She wondered if she should go for the surprise attack approach now or wait. She knew he was not comfortable in his kidnapper role, so she decided to continue the psychological approach over any physical intervention.<p>

"Ok, I will." He threw the water flask on the bottom of the bed so she could reach it. She took a good drink before holding her hand out for him to come and get it.

"Just keep it. You may need some later." he said.

She decided to try one of the golden rules of dealing with being kidnapped. She needed to try and build up a rapport with him so he saw her as a person, rather than an object.

"What time is it?" Lois asked.

"It's 11pm. Where were you going tonight?"

"To any club we could get into." she explained.

"Who is 'we'?"

"My cousin was meeting me. I haven't seen her for a few years and I really miss her. She is like my sister, and I wish I could see her more often. But that is one of the downsides of being an army brat, travelling around from base to base."

"Not a very stable life by the sound of it." he commented.

"No, it's not, but when you are a General's daughter, you have to accept it."

"It must get lonely."

"Sometimes. I wish my sister was here, but she got shipped off to boarding school in Europe." she paused.

"Listen, I am tired." she yawned. "Would it be ok to get some sleep?"

"Of course." he replied.

She tried to get to sleep but her fear, which had been suppressed during her conversation with him, was back.

Clark could not help but listen to her heartbeat. It was over an hour before it slowed, obviously meaning she had fallen asleep. He allowed himself to doze off for a while, knowing he would hear her if she stirred.

She woke up thinking it was the morning, but in this dark enclosed room it was impossible to tell. Looking over she noticed her captor was still sitting watching her.

"What time is it?"

"2.30am. You have slept for a few hours." He commented. "Are you hungry?"

"Sort of, but only for maple donuts. I don't suppose you have any in your bag. My blood sugar drops if I don't have a regular intake of donuts." she suggested.

He started to panic. "You're not diabetic, are you?"

Lois paused, grabbing the opportunity to mix things up a little. "Yes I am, but don't worry I don't need my insulin shot until the morning."

"You have that in your bag, I assume." he looked at her handbag and scanned it for any sign.

"No, I don't. I don't take it nightclubing." she replied.

He knew he would need to get her some. "What type of insulin do you need? I will go and get you some."

Lois was startled. She did not have a clue how to answer that question.

He waited for an answer, but there was silence. He did not need to listen to her heartbeat, he could see she was nervous.

He started to become impatient. "Miss Lane. You need insulin, just tell me what type and I will go and get you some."

Lois was inwardly panicking. "I...don't know the name of it. I just get it from my doctor."

"Don't you ever lie to me again. And here was me thinking we would get along just fine." He replied, with what sounded like arrogance in his voice.

Lois took a deep breath, all attempts at remaining calm suddenly disappearing. "What do you expect? You kidnap me for no reason, and expect me to be your best friend. Well, I'm afraid that is never going to happen."

Clark kept his cool. "There is a reason for your abduction, all of which will become clear in time." he replied in a chilling tone.

Lois felt chills go up her spine at the sound of his words. For the first time, she wondered if she was even going to survive this ordeal. "Are you going to kill me?" she murmured.

"As I said, all in good time." he repeated.

She knew she had to try and escape. She would rather die trying, rather than play the helpless victim. She just needed to pick her moment.

She lay back down on the bed, beginning to concoct a plan in her head.

The interchange between Lois and him gave way to conflict; internal conflict within his own mind. He could not escape the pounding fear in her heart, and the cold, hard fact that he was the cause of her pain. He tried to reason with himself, blaming his Kryptonian father and the Red K, but he knew that he was inflicting pain on this innocent woman.

He looked down at the ring, then grabbing hold of it, he tried to pull it off, but everytime he tried, the pain seered through his chest. He looked down and noticed the mark of his father had become more prominent; the very edges of the symbol burning into his flesh. He relented and left the ring in place.

Lois decided to try a reasoning approach with her captor. After all he was only 17 and she could turn this to her advantage by convincing him that letting her go was the best thing to do.

She sat up and stared across at the shadowy figure. She could have sworn, there was a red glow coming from under his shirt but then she realised it was probably the result of the bright light shining in her direction affecting her eyes. But then she heard a moan.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah...mmm...fine. Just got a cramp." he lied.

"You have probably been sitting in one place to long." she advised him.

"It will go in a minute. So you're speaking again, are we? I bet you are a handful." He replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Maybe I am, but that is only because I fight for what I believe in." she argued back.

"I bet you cause loads of trouble for your father." He remarked as if he was trying to goad her into a fight.

"Sometimes..." she decided to turn this conversation back on him. "What about your parents? I bet they are proud of you." she exclaimed, displaying obvious sarcasm in her voice.

"My parents are dead to me. They never wanted me anyway." he replied.

She could hear some emotion in his voice, so she decided to exploit it, hopefully to her advantage. "I am sure they do. Did they tell you that?"

"They didn't have to tell me. Their looks said it all. But it doesn't matter because they have held me back for far too long from achieving my destiny." he said in a very Kal-like manner.

"What destiny? You make it sound like you are going to change the world." she replied.

"Well Miss Lane..,that is my plan." he sounded serious. "This world has no idea what is going to hit it."

Lois would have dismissed his claims as bravado if he had not sounded so sincere. "Am I part of this grand plan?"

"No, you are a means to an end...an insignificant part of the bigger picture." he replied cryptically.

"So what is the end?" she needed to know.

"To make sure the world knows who I am." he bragged.

"And kidnapping me is going to help you become famous is it?"

"No, but it will get me the money I need. Money is power on this corrupt and hate filled planet."

Her plan seemed to be back firing. Instead of getting him to engage with her on some level, it just seemed to be fuelling whatever power trip he or at least his ego was on.

"You've ran away from home, haven't you?"

"No, I have escaped my prison." he corrected her. "Now I am free to do as please. I don't have to answer to anyone."

"Yes, you do. You are obviously answering to Morgan Edge. That is who you are working for, isn't it?" she announced.

She had hit a raw nerve. "Edge is not the boss. I chose to do this. He is no match for me."

"Yeah right. He is the most powerful crime boss in Metropolis. He could have you taken out in a second." she suggested, hoping she was not pushing him too far.

"Half the Metropolis PD tried that, and didn't succeed. So what chance has he got?" he replied smugly.

Lois gulped with the realization. He was the armed robber who managed to repel hundreds of police bullets outside the bank. This changed things...


	3. Chapter 3

"You were that bank robber?" she asked, totally in shock.

"Yeah that was me."

"So how did you do it?" she decided she had nothing to lose by asking as he seemed quite forthcoming when he was bragging about his exploits. "My father said it must be some kind of hi-tech weapon."

"It's not important." He bragged. "But I can tell you your dad is wrong."

"So why do you need to work for Morgan Edge when you can get as much money as you want anyway." she asked curiously.

"I am not working for him, but with him." Clark corrected her, annoyed at her presumption that Edge was giving the orders.

"That's not what it looks like from here." she tried to hold her tongue but in true Lois style she could not help herself. Her father had always told her that her tendancy to want the last word would backfire on her.

Clark raised his tone. "You are getting on my nerves now, Miss Lane, so if you know what is good for you, you will be quiet unless I ask you a question."

Lois was becoming increasingly worried by his seeming duality. Did he have some sort of personality disorder? He seemed to be swinging from being friendly to threatening within seconds, as if he had an internal conflict of some sort going on.

Lois did as he asked and lay back down, thinking about the options to escape, which in fact were turning out to be very limited options. She wished she could find out what his plans for her were and why he had taken her in the first place.

She ended up drifting off to sleep and began to have nightmares about what this man would do to her. An hour or so later she woke up, in the cold sweat, realising that she had maybe been kidnapped as part of a trap to lure her father. After all Morgan Edge had issues with the General, and killing his daughter would just make him more determined for his revenge.

She needed to act. There was no way she was going to let anyone hurt her father even if it meant putting her own life at risk. She had worked out his instability could be dangerous but it could also work to her advantage. Time may be limited so she decided to got for the direct approach.

"So what does a crimelord want with a General's daughter. Killing me will only make my father more determined to track Edge down."

Clark gulped. He was lost for words. "Umm...who says you will be killed." was the only reply he could think of.

She took a deep breath and continued her questioning assault. "I assume you will not risk letting me go in case I testify against Edge."

"My job is just to look after you, what else Edge has planned is none of my business." he replied.  
>"So you don't know why you kidnapped me." she pushed him.<p>

"No, I don't." he lied, as he did have the guts to admit that her father was in danger.

Lois paused before continuing. She knew he was lying so decided to change tact and flip the conversation to talking about his life.

"Okay..." she announced. "Can I ask what you are running away from?"

"I am not running away from anything." he replied in an annoyed tone. "I am just breaking free."

"Your childhood must have been traumatic if you feel the need to break free from it."

He pondered that question for a moment. "Not really. I just need to get away from things before I hurt anyone else."

Clark could not understand why he was opening up to Lois. Normally his Kal persona acted like a drug, making him lose his inhibitions and free of human emotions and empathy. However she was managing to pierce his armour, but he did not know how.

Maybe it was because she was someone to talk to, someone who would listen without knowing about his past or even who he was. And he was determined he would never reveal his identity to her. To make sure, he blew the bulb in the one light in the room, allowing the room to fall into complete blackness.

Lois was waiting for an answer when the bulb on the light blew. "Great..." she muttered. "I hope you have a spare."

"No, I don't carry spare bulbs with me." he replied.

"Oh well. I suppose that flickering light was giving me a headache anyway so maybe it was for the best." she explained.

"You always seem to look on the bright side, don't you." Clark asked, taking Lois off guard.

"I try not to let things get me down. I guess that is the survival instinct in me. Maybe you could do with some of my attitude. I am sure whatever happened in your past, cannot be bad enough for you to leave everything behind."

"It was unforgivable." he muttered.

"What did you do?" she pushed for more answers.

"I made my mom lose the one chance she had of ever having a child of her own. She was 3 months pregnant and she lost the baby." he said with raw emotion.

He scanned her to the look of horror across his face. "I told you that it was bad."

"But how can that be your fault." she asked.

Clark had now forgotten where they were. He needed to get offload his emotion. He looked down at the ring on his finger and used all his pent up emotion go, allowing him to pull it off. He threw it to the other side of the room...but there were consequences.

Lois heard a noise, and saw a red glowing object moving to the other side of the room.

Clark collapsed in a heap on the chair, a reaction to the red kryptonite leaving his body. She heard him slump in the chair, letting out a loud groan. She could not see anything but headed over to the source of the noise.

She reached out and felt his arms. They were limp and lifeless. Just as she was about to rouse him, she heard his body tense and he let out a scream of pure agony. At the same time, his chest started to glow. She ripped his shirt, totally shocked by what she was seeing.

There was a large brand covering his whole chest/torso. It seemed as though he had been branded by some kind of symbol. The edges were glowing, burning into his flesh.

"Lois, the key is on the table behind. Edge is after your father. Leave and warn him of the danger." he said through gritted teeth, the pain becoming increasingly unbearable.

She still could not see his face, but could feel his pain from the way his body was reacting. "I am not leaving you. How can I stop this?"

"Just go...I deserve this." he replied.

"Stop playing the martyr..." she shouted at him. "Just tell me how to stop this."

"The ring in the corner. Get it out of the room."

She got up immediately, her eyes picking out a small glowing object just a few meters away. She picked it up, grabbed the key, and left the room.

The pain stopped as abruptly as it had started. He flopped in the chair, taking a few minutes to clear his head and take in the silence which had now filled the room.

Totally unexpectedly, he heard footsteps as Lois came back into the room. "Well that is the end of that."

She went over to Clark, who was still gasping for air. "Will you be ok?"

"Why did you come back?" he asked.

"Because I was not going to stand by and let you suffer." she announced.

"But I kidnapped you." he replied.

"I have only known you for a few hours but I know you would not hurt me intentionally." she said with surety. "I would love to know what all that red glowing stuff was about but I have to go and save my father."

He sat up, regaining his composure. He could feel his strength returning. "Lois, give me five minutes." she heard a whoosh and felt something breeze past her.  
>It took her a few seconds to realise that he had left the room, and that she was now alone.<p>

Ten minutes later, there was another whoosh. "Where have you been?"

"I am sorry I have been so long. It took me a while to locate Morgan Edge. He is now at the police station with enough evidence to put him and his goons away for life. Your father is fine. He is still at Fort Ryan working out if you have been taken and if so by whom?"

"What about you?" she asked. "Edge will tell the police your identity."

"He doesn't know who I am. Nobody does!" Clark replied.

"So you can go home..." Lois suggested.

"No, that hasn't changed anything. It is better for everyone if I never go back."

Lois went back and sat on the bed. "Right, I'm here if you want to talk about it."

Suddenly her cell rang. The open door must have allowed the signal to travel to her cell.

He scanned the room for her bag, and laid it down next to her before heading back to his chair. "It is to your left." he told her.

She felt out for it. "Thanks..." She saw the number and answered it. "It's my dad."

Clark waited for her to tell her father where she was.

"Hi daddy...I am fine... Kidnapped? Where did you get that idea from?...I am out on the town. I texted Chloe to tell her I had met someone. The text must have gone missing."

"No dad. I do not want you to come and get me. I guess you be trying to trace this call but I am moving on anyway. I need some time to myself to get over Wes. He meant more than you know and it has affected me more than I thought it had."

Clark could see by her face that she was getting told off by her father. "Ok, daddy. I have company but I am fine. I've heard Morgan Edge is in jail so there is no danger of me being kidnapped." She hung up and switched the cell off.

"Can you shut the door for me, so he won't have a chance to trace the call." she asked him. "By the way, I don't expect you to tell me your name but make one up."

She could not see him smile, but he was. There was something totally refreshing about Lois Lane. She was so different from everyone else. Talking to her seemed like going to the confessional and admitting your problems anonymously, without fear of the other person knowing who you were.

"Call me Kal!" he announced.

The door slammed shut and she felt him sit on the bottom of the bed, still too far away for her to see his face in the darkness. What had she let herself in for?

"Ok...Kal..., so do you want to talk? I am so sorry your mom lost her baby, but I don't think for one moment she would blame you."

"I went to the hospital to see what had happened when I heard my parent's truck had been flipped. I saw them through the window, and it was the way my dad looked at me. There was loss and devastation in his eyes, but the one thing that will stick in my mind forever was the look of disappointment in his eyes."

"But I don't understand how you caused this? I mean you didn't flip the truck, did you?"

"No, but I kept pursuing something when I was told not to, and it was because of this, the truck crashed."

"But you did not go out and intentionally do it. I can only imagine what it is like to lose a child, but your parents would not be thinking straight at the time. I bet they have been looking for you."

"They have. I have seen my dad in the distance, and I wanted so much to go over and see him, but I knew it would hurt too much to face what I had done."

"Kal, sometimes it takes more courage to face up to things than to run away. Your parents obviously love you and if you do not go back, it will be like they have lost both their children."

"But I could never mean the same to them as their own natural child would." Clark offered.

"That is so not true. I have known people who have both adopted and natural children and they do not love one more than the other. They must have chosen to adopt you."

"Not exactly, they found me by the side of the road and they took me home and the rest is history."

"Are you worried that they will find out about your powers?" she asked.

"Lois, they know about them. I have had them since they found me. It has never made any difference to them, except they always protected my secret. Do you not want to know more about my powers?"

"No, you would tell me if you wanted to." she told him. "but you could tell me how you happen to have what looks like a cattle brand across your body. Who would do something like that?" she asked.

"My real father did it to me for not agreeing to do what he said." Clark explained.

"Sounds like a nice guy I hope you told the police." she said, realising she should be listening rather than offering an opinion.

"It is not that straightforward. My life is somewhat complicated." he announced.

"I kinda guessed that." she chuckled.

He scanned her face. "You have the most gorgeous smile."

"How do you know?" she asked, shocked. "Don't tell me you can see in the dark."

"Something like that." he replied.

"Is there anything that you can't do?" she asked.

"Yeah...deal with family conflict." he laughed. "Anyway, enough of me. It sounds like your life is just as complicated. Who is Wes?"

"Wes Keenan. He is a marine who I fell for and who I thought felt the same way. He is now shacked up with another marine, called Jodi. I really thought I loved him."

Clark felt for her. "Lois, do you think we really know what love is at this age? I thought I was in love with this girl. I pursued her for years until two years ago, we finally became an item. I broke her heart when I left town. That is another reason why I cannot return."

"Well, I have decided to do the opposite and to front up to Wes and tell him what I really think about him." she said, anger rising in her voice.

"You sound better off without him." Clark suggested, trying to make her feel better.

"Maybe you are right. I should not just settle for anyone. My cousin keeps telling me the same thing. I hope she is not too pissed at me right now for standing me up."

"I forgot to say...happy birthday! I am sorry that I don't have a cake for you." he leant over and kissed her on the cheek, just as she was turning to look towards him. His lips landed onto hers.

The most obvious things for Clark to do would be to pull back, but something stopped him. He could feel the quiver of her lips, asking him for more. Lois had no clue what she was doing, but curiosity was getting the better of her, as she pressed her mouth hard against his. Whatever was going on between their lips, it felt nice. In fact nicer than anything she had felt before and she did not want it to let it go.

Clark moved his hand to her cheek, tenderly rubbing it whilst deepening their exchange. Lois closed her eyes, lost in the blissful touch of his lips.

Suddenly the silence was shattered, the room filled the sounds of approaching feet. "Lois, are you in here?"

Lois pulled away. "It's my father."

"I don't care if he finds us." Clark announced, still mesmerised by their new found connection.

"He will. Please go before he catches you and starts to ask questions." she begged him. "But promise me, this will not be the last time I see you."

"I promise..." he said before he kissed her deeply one more time and sped off into the night.

Lois slumped on the bed, trying to work out everything that has happened in the past 12 hours – 12 hours which had changed her life...


	4. Chapter 4

Life had returned to normal in the last three months since Clark returned to Smallville, or at least that what he kept telling himself. But however hard he tried, her face kept coming back to him . Too much had remain unsaid between them, their chance to talk had been blown away by the untimely interruption of her father and his men.

He often drifted off into his own world during class, asking those questions that had not been answered and perhaps never would be. Why had he kissed her? Why had she responded in the way she did? Would he ever see her again? Should he seek her out? At first he thought a promise was a promise. But after some reading on the subject of Stockholm Syndrome, he came to the conclusion that his and Lois's reactions had been influenced by the situation they were in.

As much as he pained him to admit it, he needed to get on with his life and allow Lois to do the same. He threw himself into his penultimate year at Smallville High, whilst trying to avoid anything which reminded him of his Kryptonian side and those three months he had spent running out of control in Metropolis.

His parent often asked him what had happened in his time in the big city and what had made him return. He told them a little but never divulged the time spent with Lois, not even to his best friend Pete. Pete had been a friend as long as Clark could remember and they had become even closer since Pete found out about his alien heritage.

As usual after school, Chloe, Lana, Pete and Clark headed to the Talon to grab a coffee.

"So Clark, what have you got planned this weekend?" Lana asked, trying not to sound desperate to know.

"Nothing, just working around the farm – the usual things." he replied.

Pete and Chloe looked at each other. A person would have had to be blind not to notice Clark's frosty attitude towards Lana since he got back. Chloe thought if anyone would have been pissed, it would have been Lana for the way Clark dumped her before heading off on some weird teen-life crisis to Metropolis.

As soon as he returned she expected Clark to grovel to Lana about them getting back together but it never happened. Chloe tried not to get her hopes up but Clark had been spending a lot of time with her, making her think he may just be getting some feelings for her. She had spent years living in Lana's shadow where Clark was concerned and for once, Lana was not even in the running. She just hoped he would come away with her for the weekend. Time out of Smallville could end up as the catalyst for both of them.

Chloe decided to head around to the farm later. She headed over to the barn to see him. He was lying on his chair, staring at the roof, as though deep in thought.

"Hi Clark, am I disturbing?"

"No, you're fine. What can I do for you?" he sat up.

"I wanted to know if you would like to come away with you this weekend."

"Away...where?"  
>"To visit my cousin."<p>

Clark looked at her in puzzlement. "Why would you want me to come and visit your cousin? I am sure you would have a better time without me."

"You don't know my cousin. She is a bit of a fire-cracker who has a tendency to go out with any man who shows her any interest." she lied. "I wanted to take a date along, well a pretend date." she corrected herself in a panic. "I could ask Pete but I thought you could do with sometime away from town."

Clark pondered the invite. "I'm not really in the mood. Thanks for the invite. Maybe some other time."

Chloe left to see if she could come up with Plan B whilst Clark wandered over to the farmhouse.

His parents were sitting at the table. "Are you going to pack?"

"How do you know about it?"

His dad smiled. "Chloe asked if it would be a good idea to ask you, and we thought a change of scenery would do you good."

"Well, it isn't. After my time in Metropolis, I think it would be better if I stayed closer to home."

"I don't think you are going to get into much trouble on an army base." His mom laughed.

"Army base?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, Chloe's cousin is living at Fort Ryan at the moment. Apparently her father is some highly ranked army officer."

Clark went white. Could it be? There is no way Chloe was related to Lois. How could that be? He did not want to get his hopes up, but he needed to go and ask her.

"Ok...I'll go and see her."

Chloe was surprised when she saw Clark standing at her door. "Can I come in?"

He went and had a seat on her sofa. "I have spoken to my parents and they think I should go with you. What's this about your cousin living at Fort Ryan. You never told me you had an army brat as a cousin."

"Lois...is not your typical army brat." she smiled.

"How are you related?"

"Her mom...was the sister of my dad." she explained. "So if you go and pack, I'll pick you up at ten in the morning. It should take an hour or so to get up there."

"So what is Lois like?"

"The one word I would use to describe her is 'unique'"

Clark smiled to himself – Lois was most certainly that.

Clark could barely sleep that night. His head was playing the same kiss over and over again. He rarely got nervous but he could feel those little butterflies fluttering in his stomach with anticipation. The chance to see her again was a dream come true and he could not get over the coincidence of Lois being his best friend's cousin. Why had Chloe never mentioned her?

Then something Chloe said came into his head – the fact that Lois would go with any guy. She certainly did not strike him as that type, but then he reminded himself that she was not going to share that side of herself after he had kidnapped her.

The next few days would be the perfect opportunity to weigh up the real Lois Lane from afar, without her knowing who he was. He packed his bag in two seconds flat, and got up early to get his chores out of the way before Chloe turned up at ten.

Martha poured a cup of tea for Clark to have whilst he was waiting for Chloe. "You are like a cat on hot bricks. What Is up with you?"

"Nothing!" he protested. "I guess I am just looking forward to getting out of town for a change. I think I need a break from school."

"Ok, I suppose so." She replied, not entirely convinced by his confession.

He had been acting strange since last night. Jonathan had his own ideas which he told his wife the previous night.

"Have you ever wondered why he is not interested in Lana anymore…"

"I have and I guess we will find out at some point." Martha had replied.

"I think he has fallen for someone else….a blond best friend…perhaps." He had replied, leaving her well aware of what he was thinking.

"You think Clark is after Chloe."

"Maybe he is already going out with her. I have never seen him this fired up about anything. Trust me, this is about a girl."

"Jonathan, he has never shown any interest in her before, why now?"

"I don't know, but I bet it turns out to be about Chloe. I just hope he is not getting too serious. You have seen how he has been since he agreed to go away with her. Do you think I should have the 'talk' with him."

Martha had glared at him. "He is only 17 years old, and I am sure he is aware that his powers could be dangerous. We have to trust him on this one. If you have a 'man to man' with him now, he will bolt and not come to you when he really needs to talk about something. Anyway I do not think this is about Chloe."

"So, what or who is it about?"

"I don't know but let's just see how things unfold." Martha had told him.

As soon as he heard the car, he jumped out of his seat. "Look like my ride is here."

He walked out the door, joined by his mom. His dad was waiting for Chloe to pull up.  
>He wanted to see if he could get any clues from their interaction.<p>

"Hi Chloe." He announced excitedly. "Let's go."

Chloe looked at him. What was he all excited about? And then it hit her – maybe she was not too far off with her new theory about Clark looking at her as more than a friend.  
>Clark noticed her look and realised that he had to calm down before he gave the game away, and made Chloe suspicious.<p>

They headed off on the short journey to Fort Ryan.

"Are you ok? You seem a little buzzed." She asked him.

"No, I think I am looking forward to getting away from my parent's constant interrogation about what happened in Metropolis."

"Well you did go off the rails a bit. No one knows what you got upto?" she replied.

"I know, but I would rather forget about it." He announced.

"So what plans have you got for this weekend?" he continued.

"I don't know to be honest. The invitation came from the General. Lois has been grounded without her cell for the last three months and has been stuck on the base since she went awol in Metropolis for one night."

"She what?" Clark tried to act surprised.

"I was supposed to meet her in Metropolis for her 18th birthday, but she blew me off to spend some time in the cellar of a museum. Her father thought she had been kidnapped by a local mafia boss when all along she was shacked up doing the dirty deed with some unknown man who she had just met."

Clark gulped. "Didn't you say she was that type of girl anyway?"

Chloe shook her head. "To be honest, she comes across like a wild child that but deep down she is a caring and deeply loyal person who would do anything for those she loved."

"You make her sound like a conflicted person."

"Maybe she is. I think losing her mom at six and the fact her little sis was sent to boarding school in Switzerland whilst she was dragged across the world from army base to army base has affected her badly."

"Sounds tough! So what is with her father grounding her?" Clark asked, curiously.

"He will not un-ground her until she tells him the identity of the man she spent the night with." She added. "I will let you in on a little secret. Her father asked me to do some digging and to see what I can find out."

Clark looked at her. "Why would you do that? Surely you would not grass on your own cousin."

"I wouldn't normally, but I have spent most of my life without both parents. I think losing my mom has made me realise the importance of a child knowing both parents. Lois is determined to bring up her baby on her own." Chloe explained.

The colour drained from Clark's face. "What baby?"

Lois was still beating herself up about it. Why had she said it? Was it just to get a reaction out of her father and to wind him up tighter than he already was about the events in Metropolis.

Pregnant….What the hell! She had never even slept with anyone, so why had the words come out of her mouth. It was fine to go along with the charade for the first three months but her stomach was still flat and taut, and showed no signs of an impending bump.

She knew she would have to tell her father the truth especially with all the pressure he was putting on her to have a scan with the army doctor to see her baby was ok. He had told her he was not ready to be a grandfather but that he wanted to support her in anyway he could. In fact, he had become more mellow in the last few weeks and even given her back her cell.

Then she worked out, he wanted her to use the cell so she would contact the 'father'. He had asked her constantly about who the father was, but she refused to tell him who she had spent the night with. The truth was that she did not know his identity anyway, so she could not give him the name he wanted.

She had been excited when her dad had told her Chloe was coming up and a little shocked too.

She headed over to the gate to wait for her. She could not wait to spend some girlie time alone with her cousin.

"Does Lois know I am coming?" Clark asked as they approached the Fort.

"I don't think so, but the General does. He said it was fine because I told him you were my boyfriend."

"You what?" he asked.

"It is the only thing I could think of. He said you had to sleep in the male only guest quarters."

Clark did not really care; he could not get this picture of a pregnant Lois out of his head, and he wondered who was the father. It was probably that Wes person she mentioned, but then again why had her father not come up with that idea. At least he knew it couldn't be his; even he could not fall for that one.

Chloe pulled the car up at the check point, so they could get out and clear the security checks. Suddenly Clark started to worry that Lois would recognise his voice, but then told himself that he put on a deeper voice as Kal, which he deliberately continued to use after the red k ring came off.

It took over half an hour to be searched. The General had increased security tenfold since the drug scandal and Morgan Edge business.

Lois saw Chloe, pulling through the barrier and then her eyes caught sight of the dark haired stranger sitting next to her.

"what the hell?" she said to herself.

Chloe got out the car and ran over and hugged Lois. Lois hugged her back, but could not help but eye up the stranger getting out of the passenger side with a sheepish look on his face.

Clark could see Lois looking him up and down. She looked even more beautiful in the light of day.

Lois broke apart from Chloe. "I didn't know you were bringing someone." She said, as she took in this guy's dorky farmboy look, complete with the plaid accessories. She thought the look was quite cute.

"This is Clark Kent….my boyfriend."

"Chloe…" she almost screamed. "You didn't tell me."

Clark put his hand out to shake hers, but was then pulled into a bearhug. "Nice to meet you!" She said. He could smell the perfume on her; the same scent she had on that night. It was driving him crazy, but he managed to pull away.

"Nice to meet you, Lois." He smiled at her.

"What a smile!" Lois said out loud, embarrassing herself, and making her cheeks go a bright shade of red. "So how long have you been together?"

"Not long." Chloe interrupted, trying to stop him putting his foot in it. "Just a few weeks, but we have been friends for years."

Chloe could not help herself; her eyes kept moving to her cousin's stomach and this did not go unnoticed by Lois.

"So, my father told you my unexpected news, didn't he?"

"Yeah, it was a bit of a shock. Maybe you can fill me in later when Clark goes to bed." Chloe smiled, looking at Clark.

"There is nothing to tell."

"Yeah right." Chloe smiled.

Suddenly there was the approach of footsteps behind them . They turned to see a stern faced, imposing figure behind them.

"Uncle Sam…" Chloe hugged him.

"It has been too long Chloe. How is Gabe doing?"

"He is fine, busy at work. He said to say hi." She smiled.

Sam turned to Clark. "You must be Mr Kent. Chloe said you were coming. I have arranged for you to stay in the male guest dorm. You will have it to yourself as no one else is staying." Sam replied in a matter of fact tone.

"That's fine, Sir." Clark replied nervously. Something about his demeanour made him nervous. It have been the military man persona.

Sam took Clark and showed him to a big room with several bunk beds in. He handed Clark a piece of paper. "These are the rules on the base. You must be in your dorm by 10pm and are not allowed in the female section without prior arrangement."

"Ok, sir. I understand."

"Are you ok, Kent? You look shell shocked."

"No, sir. I am fine." He replied, as he realised he never wanted the General to find out about him and Lois because he seemed like a force to be reckoned with.

He lay on the bed for a few minutes to take in what was happening. The one thing he definitely knew was that his feelings for Lois had not diminished; they had only got stronger at the sight of her again…baby or no baby!


	5. Chapter 5

Clark could not work it out. Here he was sat opposite Lois in the bar at the base having lunch, and there was no sign whatsoever of the feisty, pigheaded girl that he had fallen for. Her eyes had lost their glint, only to be replaced by something else - deadness.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by an enthusiastic Chloe trying to get more information out of Lois. "so when is it due?"

Lois gave her a half-hearted smile. "Sometime in June, I think. I am not entirely sure."

"Has the doctor not told you?" She pushed her cousin.

"I haven't seen the doctor yet!"

"But, you need to. Your baby may be at risk." Chloe preached.

"I know…" she replied. "I'll get round to it sometime soon."

Clark decided to interrupt to try and rescue her from the Chloe Spanish Inquisition. "So what is it like living on an army base?"

Lois looked at him. "Let me tell you… I have to be up every morning at 6.30am sharp, except Sunday when I get to lie in until 7am." She replied sarcastically.

She continued. "I have breakfast, then I go to the local school where there is one teacher for 25 children aged 5-18 years old. I stay there until 3pm when I have to come home and do another 2 hours of study. I then have dinner with my father, and then I have to be in my room by 9pm. If I am lucky, I get to go to this bar for a soda on a weekend, and yeah I even get to watch TV for an hour on an evening."

"But there must be people to hang out with." Chloe added.

"The nearest aged person to me is a 14 year old boy who is obsessed with model tanks." Lois replied.

"Well I guess you will have your hands full when the baby arrives." Chloe suggested.

Lois suddenly stood up. "My father has told you to interrogate me, hasn't he?"

Chloe reluctantly nodded. "He cares about the baby."

"Chloe, how could you? I thought you were my friend." She started to walk out.

"But the baby?"

Lois snapped. "Baby, what baby? Do I look pregnant? I only said that I was pregnant to annoy my father."

Chloe was about to get up and follow her outside, but was stopped by Clark's arm.

"She is angry, Chloe. Let me go and talk to her."

Chloe looked at him oddly, but then agreed. "Ok, I guess I am the last person she wants to talk to."

Clark left to find Lois. He found her sitting on the river bank.

"Go away!" she ordered.

"Lois, can I sit down. My legs have cramps from sitting in Chloe's small car for the journey up here.." He lied.

She turned around, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Ok…but I am not going to rub them for you."

He smiled at her.

Lois looked at this tall man smiling down at her. For some reason the smile made her relax.

He sat down next to her. "I am here to listen, if you need someone."

Lois smiled. "No, not really. Let's just sit for a while. I love coming down here. It is so quiet apart from the sound of the river."

Clark listened. "I see what you mean."

"So I bet you are thrilled to be dragged her for the weekend. What did she promise you? A wild weekend away – time alone with her, away from the parents."

"No, I just wanted to get away for a couple of days. It is a change of scenery." He explained.

"God, how I wish I could have a change of scenery." She added.

"Is your father based here for long?"

"No, he is moving to South Korea at the end of next month, and from what I have heard the base there is even less fun than this one. I have decided to ask him if I can go to boarding school to finish my last few years…that is once I tell him about the lack of a baby. "

"I don't think you will have to tell him. I am guessing that half the army base will know by now. You did announce it rather loudly."

"I guess so. I did not mean for the pregnancy lie to get out of hand, but it started off small and then just snowballed and snowballed. I could see how it was hurting my father, so I kept doing it. You must think that I really hate my dad…I don't."

"So why do it?" Clark asked.

"Because I resent being dragged around the world while my sister gets to live it up in Switzerland. I get emails from her describing how she finishes school at 2pm and then gets to spend the afternoon snowboarding in the alps with her friends."

"I can see why you might be jealous. Sounds more exciting than my life."

"Tell me about your life." Lois smiled.

"Well there is nothing to tell really. I live on a farm with my parents, and attend the local highschool. Not exactly exciting!"

Lois grinned. "Your life sounds like a James Bond adventure compared to mine."

"I suppose it does. You must feel trapped."

"Yeah I do, more than I did when…" she stopped herself.

"When what?" Clark asked curiously.

" Nothing… it's not important."

"Maybe your father will stop you being grounded when he finds out you're not pregnant."

"I doubt it. He will be relieved but mad that I lied. He is still angry about my night in Metropolis." She opened up.

"Chloe said something about that." He explained.

"Oh well… My father just cannot cope with the fact I am growing up. To him, I am still his little girl. He cannot deal with me dating."

"Maybe he was just worried you were missing."

"I think he was, but I think it is more disappointed in me for picking up some stranger and having a one night stand, as he sees it."

"Oh I see." Clark did not know what to say.

"Between you and me, Clark - Nothing happened between me and him, well except a kiss. It was probably lucky my father burst in when he did, otherwise who knows what would have happened." She said with a sort of dreamy look on her face.

Clark's imagination was starting to run away as well. Then Lois suddenly turned a bright shade of red, and her barriers shot up.

"I'm sorry. I just got carried away talking. I shouldn't be talking to my cousin's boyfriend about such things." She got up and headed back to the bar.

Lois could not believe how much better she felt for having someone to talk to. Clark was a good listener, and she felt she could tell him anything. But she reminded herself that she had no right to offload her emotions on him.

She saw a guilty looking Chloe sitting talking to the bar man.

"Lois…I am sorry for what I said and did. I was out of order."

Lois hugged Chloe. "I am the one who got myself into this mess with my lies, not you. I will go and see my dad and explain things to him." She headed off, getting a smile off Clark as she went past him. She felt butterflies in her stomach but she didn't know why.

Clark took a seat next to Chloe, whilst they waited for Lois to return.

"What did you say to her to make her face her father?" Chloe asked him.

"Nothing, I just listened. I feel sorry for her. She is like a captive creature on this base."

"I had noticed that. Lois is not the Lois I used to know. I just don't know how we can help her. I have just heard that she is moving to South Korea next month."

"yeah…She told me. I think she is going to ask her dad if she can go to boarding school in the US for her last few years at school."

"He won't go for that. I will tell you that for nothing." Chloe admitted.

"Maybe she can talk him round. She is really missing out on her childhood."

"I think she spent the night with that guy just to get back at her dad." Chloe explained.

Clark realised that Lois had decided to move on from what happened in Metropolis and just wanted to put things behind her.

Chloe looked at Clark, and wondered when he was going to make his move on her. They were restricted on the base, so she decided to enlist Lois's help to get sometime alone with him.

Lois returned. She had obviously been crying.

"Are you ok, Lo?"

"No not really. He is furious that I lied to his face about such a serious matter and will not give up on finding out who I spent the night with. I thought he would drop it when I admitted my lie. He also said I was going to South Korea whether I like it or not."

The General appeared behind her. "That's right, Lois. You're coming. Mr Kent, I have arranged for you to have a session with me at the shooting range. I will see you there at 4pm sharp."

"Yes sir." He replied.

Later that afternoon, he headed over to the range, leaving Chloe and Lois to talk.

"So, how are you feeling now." Chloe asked.

"I don't know, Chlo. I feel numb, like my life is on autopilot and there is nothing I can do about it."

"When your dad snaps his finger, everyone runs!"

"He has that effect on everyone." Lois explained. "have you seen the way Clark is around him?"

"I know. Talking about Clark, I was wondering if there was any way I could get sometime alone with him." Chloe had a glint in her eye.

Lois felt something. If she did not know any better, she would have said it was a pang of jealousy. "You and Clark…"

"I don't know. We have not done anything yet. What is it like? I mean you and this guy must have been pretty hot and heavy to lock yourself in a dark basement."

"It was intense… I have never experienced anything like it before."

"Are you two still together?" Chloe inquired, holding her hand up. "I swear whatever you tell me is kept between us."

"Ok… He sent me a note about two months ago with a cell number, but I have not been able to call him since I had my phone confiscated."

"Use my cell." Chloe suggested.

"I can't, dad will be tracking all calls made from the base. Anyway the guy will have given up on me now."

"He sounds like a fast worker…maybe he is not as amazing as you think he is." Chloe was worried by the speed at which Lois had fallen for this strange man.

"Look, it is in the past now.. Let's talk about you and Clark." Lois lied.

As Chloe gushed about Clark, and explained all about the Lana and Clark saga, Lois felt herself thinking about the night two months ago.  
>She had been sitting by the river when she had felt a sudden gust of wind. She had looked down and seen an envelope. She could instantly smell the same cologne Kal had worn that night at the museum.<p>

She hastily opened it…

_Dear Lois,  
>I still think about our night together. I would say that I regret taking you, but how can I regret having the opportunity to meet you. I felt a connection between us, and so much went unsaid.<br>I hope we can find some way to be together soon. Here is my cell number. It is untraceable so it is safe to call if you are able to do so.  
>I miss you…<br>Kal  
>Xxxx<em>

She read the letter every night and wished she could speak to him, or even better see him. She had no way of getting a message to him. There was no one she could trust…not even Chloe. But then, she saw the answer approaching her. She had only just met Clark, but for some reason she felt it was safe to trust him. She needed to give it a try…

Lois had managed to convinced Chloe that getting one on one time in the male guest dorm with Clark was a very bad idea, especially with the mood her father was in.

"He has eyes all over the base. You will have more chance back in Smallville." Lois explained.

"I suppose so."

Clark joined them for dinner. Luckily her father had been called to a meeting so it was only the three of them.

"So how were your shooting skills?" Lois asked him.

"Not very good. I don't think your father was impressed."

"He is rarely impressed so I would not worry about it." Lois commented.

The three of them watched some TV and the girls reminisced about the summers they used to spend together. Clark was becoming very uncomfortable as Chloe kept trying to put her arm around him or touch his knee. He was starting to wonder if Chloe was starting to think there was something going on between them.

Clark looked at his watch and yawned. "Well I better get to bed before the 10pm curfew."

Chloe headed off to get her and Lois some cocoa. Lois got up to join her, passing very close to Clark's ear with her mouth.

"Meet me down by the river at 1am." She whispered in his ear.

Clark wondered what she wanted to meet for, but he was excited to find out.

Lois had told Chloe that she had to pop out for a while, as she had some unfinished business with Wes, and was going to meet him. Chloe was too tired to care and fell back asleep.

She could see Clark sitting waiting. She joined him.

"Sorry for dragging you down here and I am sure you are curious what it is all about." Lois smiled.

"I was wondering." He said.

"Ok…I need your help. I have no life here and I have decided I am not going to Seoul. I want to start a new life."

Clark was worried when he heard this. "A new life….where?"

"I need to see the man I met in Metropolis. I have fallen for him, harder than I could ever imagine. I have no way of contacting him, as my father has my cell."

Clark gulped, and could not get her admission of her true feelings out of his head. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Ok…I have his cell number and need you to send him a message after you leave the base in the morning."

"Ok..what do I tell him?"

She handed him a piece of paper with a number and message. Pick me up at 11pm. I need to see you again. Lois xxx

Clark decided he had to question her so she would not get suspicious. "How can he pick you up?"

"I have ways! Leave me to worry about that." She smiled. "Will you do it?"

"Yes, I will."

Lois bent over to kiss him on the cheek. "Chloe is a lucky girl!"

With that, she got up and left. Clark could not sleep for thinking about the endless possibilities about what could happen at their meeting.


	6. Chapter 6

Next morning, he joined Chloe and Lois for breakfast before they headed back. The General had told them they had to be off the base by 11am as there were top secret exercises happening that afternoon.

Lois walked them to the car. She hugged Chloe. "I will keep in touch. Look after Clark, he is special."

Clark hugged her too, and she whispered in his ear. "Thank you so much."

His parents were sitting having lunch when Chloe dropped him off at the farm.

"Hi mom, dad…" he said chirpily.

They looked at each other knowingly and realised it must be Chloe.

He sat down and told them about Lois and how she was more or less being held captive on the base. The little niggling idea which had hit him on the journey home was starting to grow. What did he have to lose? It was a crazy idea but what the hell!

"Is there any chance that Lois could come and stay with us? She could go to Smallville High to finish her high school diploma."

Jonathan almost choked on his coffee. His son must have been serious about Chloe if he was willing to bring her cousin to Smallville to keep her happy.

Martha looked at Clark. "Why would you think her dad would let her come and stay here with us?"

"Because you are great parents and will look after his daughter." He explained.

"Just come and meet her. We can drive up next weekend to see her. She is so lost on that base, and she has lost her spark…or so Chloe tells me. You were willing to take in a 2 year old alien orphan so why not an 18 year old army brat."

Martha knew Clark was not going to give up that easily. "Give me time to talk to your father." She looked at a puzzled Jonathan.

Clark took this as a yes and got up to go over to the Talon to tell Chloe his idea.

"That would be fantastic." Chloe read between the lines, and knew he was doing this as a favour to her. She was convinced he was falling for her. Why else would he want Lois in town?

Clark headed over to his barn at 10pm. He often fell asleep there so his parents did not question his motives…

Her heart was pounding with anticipation as she looked at her watch. As soon as it struck 11pm, she felt a gust of wind. She closed her eyes and waited for the movement to stop.

Clark stopped when he got to Crater Lake. They were in some of the densest forest at the other end of the lake, even the moonlight could not penetrate the trees. Even when her eyes got used to the light, she could not make out anything but a black figure standing a few feet away from her.

"Kal, you came." She blurted out with excitement. "I have missed you so much."

"Me too." Clark replied in his gruffest Kal-like voice.

She moved towards him, catching his lips offguard. As soon as he felt her lips, his body was filled with electricity. He reciprocated immediately, making things heat up instantaneously. After what seemed like an eternity, they broke apart.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Better than ever! I could not stop thinking about our time in the basement."

"I am sorry I held you against your will and scared you." He announced sincerely.

"I know it wasn't the real you." She said. "It was that red ring, wasn't it?"

"That is no excuse. If I hurt you, I would never forgive myself."

"You never would. I trust you with my life. There is an unbelievable connection between us, isn't there?"

"Yes there is. I have never felt anything like it before. I was hoping you would feel the same." He announced.

He kissed her again; he could not get enough of her. This time, her hands were moving away from his neck and started to trail down the small of his back. He followed suit, reaching around the back of her head to tilt it to get better access with his mouth. Her hands were now trying to pull his black tee shirt out of his jeans.

He realised he needed to stop before they went too far and before she discovered who he was.

"Do you want to sit and talk?" he said trying to distract her.

"Ok…" she sat down. "So please tell me you went back home."

"I did, as soon as I left you. My parents were thrilled to see me."

"I told you they would be."

"I cannot get over the guilt of what I put them through with the baby and everything." He opened up.

Lois smiled. "It takes time for wounds to heal but they will."

"How has it been for you?" he asked, knowing full well.

"Not good. My father is being ridiculous." She explained how he had reacted and about her life.

"To be honest, I felt more freedom in the basement with you than I ever could living with my father and for that reason, I have decided to leave him and follow my own path. "

"Where will you go?"  
>"I don't know yet. I am going to spend the next few weeks planning it."<p>

"Wherever it is, I will look out for you."

"I know you will." She replied, wanting to ask him to come with her but knowing she could not ask him to leave his parents again.

Clark knew she would carry through on her threat and decided that he needed to convince his parents to let her move to Smallville.

"Kal, I will have to get back to the base before I am missed. Can we meet again. – say next weekend."

"Yes, I will pick you up same time next Saturday."

She kissed him one more time, before he picked her up and returned her to the base.

Clark went back to the barn, and lay on his sofa, thinking about what had just happened. It was nice to see glimpses of the real Lois again. It occurred to him, that she had never once asked him about who he was tonight or about his powers. She treated him as though he was normal, and to Clark that meant so much.

Clark got up early the next few mornings to get on with his chores before school. One morning, his dad came to find him.

"Are you ok, Clark? Your mom and I are worried about you. You seem different. Have you had any more contact with Jor-el."

"No dad. I have not heard anything from him since Metropolis."

"Is this about Chloe? You two are dating, aren't you?"

The look on his son's face told him his answer. "Me and Chloe? What would give you that idea?"

"Just you have been so chipper lately."

"I think it is just because things are starting to get back to normal after my time in Metropolis."

He placed his hand on Clark's shoulders. "That is in the past now, and I think we need to forget what happened."

"I can't…dad. I did some things…"

"You mean like the Metro Bank incident. We know it was you, but I am sure you have returned the money and no one was hurt."

"You knew…why didn't you say? But I caused all that damage to police property."

"I know but they blame Morgan Edge for that, and they have now seized all his legal assets to pay for the damage and to compensate his victims."

"There is more…"

Jonathan stopped him. "I am sure you will tell us when you are ready to. We are just pleased to have you back. We love you son."

Clark hugged his dad. "I love you too."

Jonathan looked at his son. "your mom and I have discussed it, and are willing to come and meet Lois next week. She sounds like she has a pretty dismal life at the moment."

Clark's face lit up. "That's great. You'll love her."

"Can I just ask why you are doing this?" Jonathan inquired.

"I think we just hit it off, and I hate to see how unhappy she is." He replied, not telling the whole truth.

"Ok, let's see what happens. No promises!" he told his son.

Clark nodded and hoped things would go to plan.

The next few days flew by and they were soon on their way to see Lois. Jonathan had rang General Lane and said they were passing at the weekend and Clark had promised to drop some DVD's in for Lois

Clark was glad he had sent Lois the note. It took a lot of soul searching to think about whether it was the right thing to do. He had bought a new cell anonymously, and had waited in hope that she would phone but she never did…

His parents had spoken to Chloe about Lois and now knew they were doing the right thing in trying to bring her to Smallville.

They cleared security and the General was waiting for them. "Hi…Mr and Mrs Kent…Clark." He extended his hand.

"I am sure Lois will appreciate you bringing her some entertainment. She gets bored on the base sometimes. I have not told her you that you were coming."

"General Lane, we have actually come here under false pretences. There is a proposition we would like to put to you. Can we talk to you in private?" Jonathan admitted.

Sam looked at Jonathan with a puzzled look. He had done some background checking into Clark and his parents and he had found out they were pillars of their community and were highly regarded. "Of course."

"Clark, Lois went for a walk in the woods, if you want to go and find her." Sam suggested.

Clark smiled at his parents and went to find her. It didn't take long. She was sitting by the river in her usual spot.

"Hi…" he said gently to get her attention.

Lois heard the familiar voice behind her and for some reason thought it was Kal. She turned around to see Clark smiling at her.

"Clark…what are you doing here?" she got up and flung her arms around him. "Where's Chloe?"

"She is not here. I came with my parents."

"Why did your parents want to come here?" she asked curiously.

"They are talking to your father about the possibility of moving you to Smallville to complete your high school."

Her face lit up. "You're kidding! Why would they do that?"

"Chloe and I asked them to. You seemed so sad and lonely here." He explained. "You may not want to."

"I would love to. Where will I live though? From what Chloe told me, there was only room for her and your ex-girlfriend at that apartment above the coffee shop. Gabe has moved, hasn't he?

"Yeah he has… You can move in to the farm with us." He said, trying not to sound too excited.

"You sound like you have it all planned, but I don't think my father will agree." She said disappointedly.

"I think you need to give my parents a chance. They might be able to persuade him."

"Ok, let's see. Thank you for contacting him…"

"Did you see him?"

Her face went red. "Yeah I did, and it was great."

Clark stopped himself going red too. "You must really like him."

"He means everything to me." She admitted honestly. "I am sure you know how that feels with the way you and Chloe are."

He wanted to tell her, there and then…but he held back. "Just for the record, Chloe and I are not dating in fact we never have. She was jealous of your fling with that guy and wanted to pretend she had a boyfriend. I was the nearest male at the time…" he smiled.

"I would say she wished you were her boyfriend. She was practically gushing over you last weekend. I think you need to set her straight, unless there is a chance for you two."

"No chance. She is my best friend, but I just don't see her in that way."

"Is this about Lana? Chloe told me all about the trials and tribulations of you and Lana." Lois smirked.

"No, it's not. It doesn't matter anyway." He smiled. "I wonder what my parents are saying to your father."

Jonathan and Martha were making headway with the General but something was making him hold back.

"I appreciate your concern about my daughter and I realise letting her settle in one place and proper high-school would be good for her. But my daughter is not straightforward. She can be very headstrong and needs firm guidance to stop her going off the rails."

"We have coped with Clark and all his teenage strops over the years, I am sure Lois cannot be that bad."

"Let's put it this way, she went to Metropolis three months ago, and spent the night with some man she had just met, in some grotty basement. I thought she had been kidnapped by some gangster. "

Martha and Jonathan looked at each other.

Sam looked at them. "I can see I have put you off."

Jonathan decided to continue with their plan. "No you haven't. Are you worried that if she stays in Smallville that she will go and look for this mystery person."

"That is my biggest concern. I have not been able to find out who he is. She told me she was pregnant a month ago, just for me to find out last weekend that she had lied to annoy me."

Martha smiled. "Maybe she is just feeling stifled on the base. Is it really the life for an 18 year old? She lost her mom at such a young age and maybe she just wants to find her own way in life. After all being eighteen is a bit of a crossroads."

Jonathan joined in. "We will try and do everything we can to make sure we can guide her for the next year."

Sam sat back in his chair. "Ok, Mr and Mrs Kent, I will accept your kind offer but I need regular updates. I will enrol her in Smallville High on Monday. "

"She may not want to come." Martha joked.

"She will, believe me!" her father managed a smile. He got up and shook their hands.

"Why don't I drop her off Friday night so she can get settled in, as I head to Seoul next Saturday, earlier than planned anyway? I will call you next week to discuss money arrangements and things."

Clark and Lois were just heading back to her dad's office to see what was happening when his parents emerged.

"Hi, Mr and Mrs Kent." She marched forward eagerly and shook their hands.

"Call us Martha and Jonathan…please." His mom smiled.

"What did the General say?" Clark asked hopefully.

"He has agreed for you to move into the farm next Friday, if that is what you want, Lois?"

Lois did not answer; she just ran up and hugged them both.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you mind dropping me off at the Talon. I need to speak to Chloe about Lois and set the record straight about me and her." Clark asked as they entered Smallville.

"No…honey. Good luck." Martha smiled as she watched her reluctant son getting out of the car.

Chloe was sitting with Lana when Clark walked in. "So what happened?" she asked excitedly.

"Lois is landing in Smallville in T minus 7 days." He smiled.

"That's great." She got up and hugged him. "I can't wait to see what my cousin makes of small town life."

She looked down at Lana. "You'll love her, Lana."

Lana looked at Clark uncomfortably. "I am going to see Lex about the Talon, so I will see you later."

"Ouch.." Clark commented. "Is she still pissed at me? I thought she would be glad to finally step off the Clark and Lana rollercoaster."

"I don't think she will get over it just like that."

"Can we talk somewhere private, Chloe? There is something I need to clear up with you." He asked nervously.

Chloe's heart pounded. "Of course."

They headed up to the apartment. "Sit down." Chloe pointed to the sofa.

He took a seat. She joined him. "You look nervous. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Ok... the past few days, I have had comments off people saying you think we may be more than friends…and there was all that stuff with pretending to be my girlfriend when we went to Fort Ryan." Clark stuttered.

"What people!"

"My parent, for one. Anyway I think we need to clarify the status of our relationship.

"Ok, you go first." She moved towards him.

"Chloe, it would be so easy for us to get together because we are best friends and even easier to read things in something which is not there. Basically what I am trying to say is that, I love you as a friend but I do not have romantic feelings for you."

Her face crumpled. "But Clark, don't they say that is how the best relationships start…as friends, I mean."

"Chloe, I know you may not want to hear this, but I cannot flip a switch and turn on feelings for you. I just don't feel that type of connection with you."

She had tears in her eyes. "You mean the type of connection you have with Lana."

Clark got off the chair and knelt in front of Chloe. "I realised months ago that I did not even have that type of connection with her either. I thought I did, but now I know I was too blind with the 'first love' thing to see my feelings for her were not the real thing."

"You're not gay, are you?" Chloe tried to make a joke.

"No, I'm not."

"Is there someone else?" she asked.

Clark paused and gave her the best answer he could in the circumstances. "There may be…I don't know yet."

"She is one lucky girl. You met in Metropolis, didn't you?" she probed.

"Yeah…kind of. " he announced non-committedly.

Chloe was knocked over by his sincerity so much so that she could not be mad with him. She hugged him. "Thank you for having the guts to be honest, Clark. I guess I can cope with just being one of your best friends."

He hugged her back. "You always will be, Chloe!"

Clark looked at his watch. It was past six, and he was meeting Lois in five hours. He headed home.

His parents were waiting for him to come back.

"How did she take it?" Jonathan asked him.

"Surprisingly well actually. She seemed to accept it." He explained.

"We are impressed that you had the courage to confess rather than lead her on." Martha said.

"She assumed it was because I still had feelings for Lana, but I managed to convince her."

"Are you really over Lana?" his dad inquired.

"Yeah totally. I think it was more of an obsession than anything else. It would not have worked out in the long run. She is still mad at me though."

He smiled at his parents. "Thanks for today!" he hugged them.

"I just hope we don't regret the decision. Lois sounds like a feisty individual to say the least." Jonathan commented.

"You won't. Her heart is in the right place." Clark defended her.

"Has she mentioned anything to you about a boyfriend?" His dad asked.

Clark tried to sound convincing. "No, I don't think she would talk to me about anything like that."

Jonathan was not convinced and knew his son was hiding something. He knew they would just have to keep a close eye on Lois.

Meanwhile back at Fort Ryan, Lois was so excited about living on the Kent Farm. It would be such a cool change from the base.

She had always felt closer to her cousin than she had to her own sister. Maybe it was the close proximity in ages between her and Chloe. The Kent's seemed lovely, and Clark may prove interesting to live with. He was a good listener for someone his age and particularly considering he belonged to the male species. He was also very cute, not that she had noticed. Perhaps she had a girl crush on him, but then again he was only a boy, not as grown up and self-assured as her 'boyfriend'.

She pondered her use of the word 'boyfriend'. Were they dating? She didn't even know his true identity or even what he looked like for that matter. Moving to Smallville would allow her to continue her romance with Kal. Although she has no clue where they were headed but the mystery just increased the intensity of their relationship.

She looked at her watch. It was almost 11pm. She closed her eyes and waited … Right on cue, she felt the ground move from underneath her feet…

She didn't manage to get any words out of her mouth before she felt the pressure of Kal's lips on hers.

Once she came up for breath, she announced. "You don't waste anytime, do you?"

He almost growled. "I can't help myself when I am around you. You drive me crazy."

"I know how you feel. " she kissed him again.

"So how are you doing?"

"Well, I have some great news. I am moving to a small town called Smallville. I don't know if you have heard of it. You may not have done, as it seems to only have a population of 34 people, 6 cows and 2 horses." She joked.

"Yeah I know it." He replied. "Does this mean that we can keep on seeing each other?"

"yes… definitely. I just need to get my friend Clark on to the case. He is the one who sent you the message to meet me. Don't worry though, we can trust him to keep our secret."

"You've known him a long time then?" Clark asked, wanting to find more about her thoughts on his true identity.

"No, just a week or so." She replied.

"And you trust him?"

"Yeah one hundred percent, otherwise I would not have asked for his help. I just had to see you."

"How are things in your real life?" she asked.

"Fine, things are starting to go back to normal, whatever normal is for me." He joked.

"You mean with your powers?"

"Yeah, I guess I have spent years craving for a normal life and the chance to be honest with my friends, but I always have to hide."

"Do any of your friends know?" she asked, thrilled she was one of the chosen few.

"Yeah, one of my closest friends does, but I think he wished he had not found out. It just seemed to complicate matters."

"If he is your friend, I am sure he understands."

"Lois, it is a lot to take in. I am not your…run of the mill…meteor freak, as people like to call them."

"My cousin has told me all about the meteor shower. I just assumed you must have been affected by it somehow. I mean you're not exactly an alien, are you?"

"Well actually now you mention it."

She laughed loudly, but then stopped mid-laugh. Something told her that she had hit the nail right on the head. "You're not from another planet, are you?"

"What would you say if I said I was?"

"It would be a shock but I would deal with it." She offered.

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yeah…yeah I do. It would not change the real you. Well not that I know who you really are."

"Do you want to know?" he stepped forward. For the first time ever, he wanted to show someone who he really was, and to break down the barrier between them.

She placed her hand on his chest, motioning for him to step back. "No, not yet. Maybe sometime…"

He moved back. "If you ever ask me to reveal myself, I will." He promised.

"Thank you, Kal. But for now, let's keep the mystery." She kissed him. "I am sorry our meetings are so brief, but after Friday, things should be easier if I can convince Clark that it is a good idea to cover for us."

"I am sure he will." Kal replied. He kissed her goodnight before returning her to the base.

Clark sped back to Smallville. He just wished Friday would hurry up.

Things between him and Chloe were kind of back to normal, but there was a hint of disappointment from Chloe in the way she acted towards him.

It was agreed that Lois would be arriving at six. What the Kent's did not bank on was the need of a convoy of three army trucks to ferry all of Lois's luggage.

"Where will we put all this?" Martha whispered to Jonathan who looked white when he saw the amount of stuff being unloaded.

Lois was organising all the troops and telling them where to put all the stuff.

"Lois, If this ever gets back to my chain of command, I will be in trouble." Sam actually looked nervous.

Clark helped to take some of the cases up to his room. Soon he could not see the bed.

Lois came up and started to unpack. "So where will you be sleeping, Smallville?"

"Smallville?" he announced. "Where did that name come from?"

"I don't know. I think you just sum up this town, so I am going to call you Smallville from now on."

"Do I get a say in this?" he smiled.

"No, of course not!" she playfully punched him in the arm. Without thinking he grabbed her arm and almost swung her around to kiss her.

"What's with that!" she asked shocked.

He pointed at the floor. "I was just worried you would trip on one of your many bags."

She laughed. "You are so chivalrous."

Maybe his parents were right, she could be harder work than he thought but then again he was up for challenge.  
>Her father said his goodbyes and she was amazed that he cried. She promised to be good and to keep in touch as much as possible.<p>

"I will believe that when I see it." Her father managed a laugh, something she did not hear very often.

Clark, Lois and his parents headed back into the house. "So where are you going to be sleeping? She asked him when his parents were out of earshot.

"With you, of course. It is the country after all. You don't mind bunking up do you?"

She took him seriously. "No way. I have to speak to your parents about this."

He looked at her, and the biggest grin yet appeared on his face.

"I'm kidding, what do you take me for?"

She punched him again. He realised he would have to get used to the play punches as something told him they were going to be a regular occurrence from now on. What neither of them had realised was the amount of sparks were already flying between them…


	8. Chapter 8

Lois headed over to the barn later that night and found Clark looking out of his telescope. "So this is where you hang out, Smallville?" she said as she flung herself on the sofa.

He looked up. "Nice of you to drop by and see me." He replied sarcastically. He had been expecting her.

"So Smallville... here's the deal!" she announced nervously.

He waited, but there was silence. "Lois, just tell me."

"Ok, I have arranged to meet my boyfriend tonight and I need you to cover." She explained.

"Why should I risk getting into trouble for you?" he asked, trying not to agree too readily to her request.

She made a face at him. "You wouldn't come in between true love, would you?"

"True love!" he announced in a shock tone…shocked by the potential strength of her feelings for him, or at least for 'Kal'.

"Yeah, we do have something very intense between us. I could not survive long without being able to see him. Please…" she gave him those pleading eyes.

"Ok…I will." He replied.

She got up and hugged him. Without thinking he tightened his grip on her with his arms and held her. At first, she stood still but then she seemed to realise that he was holding onto her oddly because she pulled away slowly.

"Thanks….Smallville." she announced with hesitancy.

She waited for his parents to go to bed and then texted him. Seconds later, he sped into her bedroom and carried her away to their secret meeting place.

He put her down. She sat down in the pitch back, but soon jumped back up when she realised she has sat down on a stick. "Damn." She cried.

"Are you ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah I am fine. Is there any chance we can meet somewhere else next time, I am bit fed up of stumbling around in the dark." She explained.

"So do you want to go some place where we can see each other properly." He asked, willing to do it if she agreed.

"No for some reason, I am not ready to know…not yet anyway. I was watching nine 1/2 weeks the other week and I thought…"

He stopped her. "Are we ready for that?" he interrupted her, panic evident in his voice. "I have never…"

"No, I didn't mean that… More like the idea of me wearing a blindfold, and then we can go anywhere."

"Oh I see. " He replied. If she could have seen him, she would have seen his bright red face.

"I haven't done that either." She admitted.

"Honestly, I thought you would be an expert." He replied, wishing he hadn't, the moment the words came out of his mouth.

Her expression changed. "Kal, what do you take me for?" she fired at him angrily.

"I did not mean it to sound like that. I just thought you and Wes were serious." He tried to dig his way out of the mess he had created.

"No you didn't mean that." She shouted. "It is obvious what you meant. You think I am easy, just because I scored with some guy who kidnapped me." There was venom in her voice. "Take me home now."

He knew he had really screwed up and trying to reason with her in this mood would be impossible. "Ok, I'm sorry."

She was soon back in her bedroom. She climbed into her bed, and allowed the tears to fall onto the pillow.

Clark lay on the sofa listening to her…sobbing. It was unbearable and he wanted to go and tell her everything…but he knew it would make matters worse.

Next morning, Jonathan and Martha headed out early to pick up some supplies for their anniversary night in Metropolis. They went away for one night every year and Clark never asked what sort of supplies they were buying. It was just too gross to think about.

He waited at the breakfast table until Lois finally made an appearance.

"Morning, Lois." He said gently. She looked shattered, more through lack of sleep than anything else.

"Hi…" she said sheepishly.

Clark felt guilty about the events of last night, but he knew he could not show his true feelings or she would get suspicious.

She sat quietly eating her cereal until she sighed. "Smallville, just ask. I am sure you are dying to know how my date went."

"It is none of my business. I am sure you will tell me if you want to." He replied.

"I need to talk to someone about what happened and you are the only person I can tell because no one else knows about me and Kal." She stopped, realising she had told Clark the name of her mystery man.

"So ok…what happened between you and…Kal." He asked, his heart pounding at what was coming.

"He implied that I was…active…in fact very active." She went red.

"Well you are. Chloe told me you liked running every morning." He replied, trying to act naïve.

"No, I mean…like I slept with anyone who showed interest."

He did not have to act embarrassed, he always was when people talked about sex. "I am sure he would not have meant it."

"He meant it, and I am sure he hoped he could be my next notch on the bed post."

His cheeks were getting brighter by the second. "Has he made a move?"

"No…"

"Well, maybe you have misunderstood his intentions." He tried to defuse the situation.

She thought for a second, and seemed to calm down a little. "You could be right. It was so out of character for him."

"Ok, then. It was all a misunderstanding."

"I must admit I was sort of hoping he would make a move. I have never been so attracted to someone. God, Clark, were you a woman in a previous life because I seem to tell you things I would normally only tell Chloe or Lucy."

"I don't think I was." He laughed, and took a nervous gulp at the thought of Lois wanting him to make a move on her…

Suddenly their heart to heart was interrupted by his parents coming through the door, giggling like children.

Lois and Clark stopped what they were talking about and looked at them.

"Sorry…." Martha smiled. "We were just planning our weekend."

"Mom, stop right there. I am sure Lois does not want to hear anymore. I certainly don't." Clark replied.

His dad just looked at him. "What's gotten into you? We were just planning where to eat and what movie to see."

Clark went red for the third time that morning. He was up a height with the admission from Lois that she wanted Kal to make a move. His thoughts were swinging from excitement to terror in one go.

"Nothing. I don't think I slept very well. "

Lois smiled. "well don't think you are getting your room back."

Martha laughed. "Ok, we are going to pack. We will be leaving in an hour. We're sorry to be leaving you so soon after arriving."

"Don't worry, Mrs K. I just wish I had known about your anniversary so I could have got you a gift."

"Lois, it is Martha and we don't want you to spend any money on us."

Lois looked at Clark and hit him on the back. "Well guess what. Clark and I are going to bake you a surprise for when you come back tomorrow."

"We can't wait." Jonathan added, not realising that Lois and cooking did not mix.

Whilst his parents were upstairs, Clark tried to steer the conversation back on to her plans with Kal, but Lois had her nose buried in a cookbook looking for recipe ideas.

"Oh…perfect! Let's make a strawberry flan. We can have it with cream." Her eyes lit up. "Maybe Kal and I could put any of the left over ingredients to good use later." She commented.

Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to hide the effect she was having on him. "Can we talk about something else."

She looked at him. "You're jealous aren't you? Not of me and Kal, I mean. Just the fact we are going to have some fun later."

"Of course not!" he replied. "I think a break from relationships is good for me."

"Well, I am going to find out all about your past relationship and drama." She said looking at her watch. "I am meeting Chloe and Lana at 11am."

Clark and Lois waved his parents off, and then he excused himself and headed to the barn whilst she went to the Talon to meet the girls.

Welll, she is certainly stunning, Lois thought as she approached the table where Chloe and Lana were sitting.

"Hi Lois." Chloe stood up. "This is Lana Lang. Lana, this is Lois."

Lana smiled. "Hi, nice to meet you. Chloe has told me so much about you."

"Only nice things I hope." Lois replied as she sat down.

They chattered all about the school and what Lois could expect when she started on Monday, but then the conversation turned to Clark.

"So why don't you both come across the farm tonight to watch a DVD. Maybe we could ask Pete to, so Clark does not feel so overpowered." Lois suggested.

"I don't know if I will be welcome. Clark has been a bit frosty towards me since we broke up." Lana admitted.

"He'll get over it. Tonight might be a chance for you to sort out your differences." Lois replied.

"Maybe, but that is half the reason we broke up – his inability to discuss his feelings or listen to what I had to say."

Lois did not say it, but she could not work that one out. She had never felt such a connection with anyone as she had with Clark, in terms of being able to open up and offload her thoughts and feelings. He was an unbelievably good listener for a man.

"You must miss him!" Lois commented.

"I do, but then again, I enjoy my freedom. You will notice with Clark, that he seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders and that he hardly ever laughs."

Was she talking about the same person? Lois thought back to all the times in the 24 hours that her and Clark had been in fits of laughter. Lana and Clark were obviously not suited.

"Your relationship with Clark does not sound like much fun. I mean at our age, we should be having fun whilst we can." Lois added. Lana got called to the counter to ask if she could help clear the line that had built up.

Chloe looked at her cousin. "We can't all have as much fun as you, can we? Have you been in touch with your mystery man?"

"Yes…I saw him last night actually."

"When are you going to introduce us?" Chloe asked hopefully.

Lois realised she could not tell Chloe the fact that even she did not know who he was or even what he looked like. How odd would that sound?

"When we have been going out a bit longer! He is shy!" she made up an excuse.

"Not too shy, obviously with the speed that you spent the night with him." Chloe laughed.

Lois saw Lana coming towards them. "Do you mind if we don't mention this to anyone else. If the Kent's find out, I will be thrown out. I bet my father has warned them. He seems to have told anyone else who was willing to listen." She replied quietly.

Something was niggling her about her relationship with Kal but she could not work it out…

"You what!" Clark asked in shock after Lois broke the news to him whilst he was working on the tractor.

"I have arranged for a few friends to come over and watch a DVD. We had better make some food." She said cheerily.

"But one of those friends is my ex-girlfriend." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but she is so over you and you are over her, so guess what…it is time to move on." She announced as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

He looked at her. "Ok, I suppose I can try. So it is me and three girls?"

"No, would I be that cruel? I bumped into Pete and he is coming. He seems nice." She said. "Ok, I am going into town to get some ingredients. Not only do we need to make a flan for your parents, we need to provide some stuff for tonight."

Clark smiled. "Your dad has definitely taught you how to organise things, hasn't he?"

"Dad always said that being unorganised will just lead to chaos."

"Can you cook?"

"I haven't cooked in years but how hard can it be, once you learn how to switch the oven on."

Clark took the list out of her hands. "I guess I am coming with you. My mom has taught me to cook over the years and I do not want my parents coming back to a burnt out shell of farmhouse."

"Party pooper." She said, as she wiped something off his cheek. "Don't think you are coming to the store like that. I think you need to wash that oil of your face first. Look it's ok, I know exactly what I need so I will be back in an hour."

Later that afternoon, any visitor to the Kent Farm would think there had been a robbery. There was a trail of flour and broken egg shells leading to the kitchen bench.

Clark was laughing uncontrollably. "Lois, you are supposed to use the flour to make the pastry, not wear it."

"I'll get you back." She said as she grabbed the cream and started to spray it at him. He ducked and it missed him, landing on one of his mom's favourite paintings.

"Oh god." Lois said.

"Don't worry we will clean it up later. I am having too much fun." Clark grinned.

"Lana said you never smiled or laughed when you were with her." Lois said as she ran after him with the remainder of the can of cream.

Clark stopped behind the sofa. "Doesn't that tell you, maybe I was with the wrong person. You make me laugh."

She stopped and started to bite her lip. "What are you trying to say?"

He looked at her. "Maybe you and me should give it a go." He said, caught up in the moment to realise the implications of his words.

She had a look of panic. "You know what. There is hardly any cream left. Hope Kal can just make do with the strawberries later."

Clark grinned, continuing his teasing. "Why don't we see what we can do with the strawberries?"

She ran over and jumped onto her knees on the sofa. "You're no Kal."

"Maybe that is a good thing. I don't think you are happy with him." He said, realising how stupid that sounded, considering he was one and the same person. He leant down to kiss her, but before he could make contact with her lips, she jumped off the sofa and headed to the kitchen. "We had better get tidied up before our company comes."

Clark came to his senses. "Ok. Shall I jump in the shower first?" he looked down at all the flour and eggs on his shirt. "I will tidy up when I come down."

"No, you can tidy up now, and I will see you in an hour after my shower." She punched him in the chest before walking off.

Later, he was in the middle of having a shower when Lois just walked in brazenly.

"Lois, I am having a shower, some privacy would be appreciated. You have had yours already." He announced sharply.

"Come on. I'm only interested in one man and I am sure I can avert my eyes." She said as she started to brush her teeth.

The visibility in the bathroom was down to zero by the time Lois had finished. "Lois, I need to get dried now. Can you leave?"

"I can't see anything in this fog, anyway." She commented as she proceeded to apply her make up.

He just sighed and climbed out. He made sure he moved around when he was getting dried, to make sure she got soaked as payback.

"Whoa..Smallville. Please keep your drips to yourself. I will have to change my clothes now." She stomped off, secretly pleased with herself for winding him up.

Clark walked out the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist, and past his old room so he could get dressed in his parent's room. But then he decided to get his own back on her. Not even bothering to knock, he marched straight in, only to bump into a completed naked Lois standing near the door.

She turned around in a panic to come face to face with his muscular toned chest. Her hands landed on his stomach. "What the hell?" she managed to get the few words out.

Clark's shyness would have normally kicked in but for some reason he just stood there taking in the beautiful creature in front of him.

She could not help herself. She was amazed that this farmboy could keep such an amazing body under wraps. For some inexplicable reason, her body was reacting to the sight of him. Without thinking she ran her hands up his torso to his chest. He responded by letting out a deep breath. He looked down and followed her arms with his eyes.

She started to move backwards from him towards the bed. He followed her until she could go no further. She grabbed the towel and pulled him to her, as she fell back on the bed, allowing him to follow her…


	9. Chapter 9

_If anyone wants the M rated part to cover what happened between this chapter, and the last chapter, just inbox me and I will PM you…_

Lois and Clark never had a chance to dissect what had just happened?

"Clark…are you here?" Pete shouted from downstairs.

"Oh god, it's Pete." Lois replied. "Why don't you go downstairs and see him while I have yet another shower. We can discuss all this later." She kissed him tenderly on the forehead.

Clark waited until she left the room and then sped downstairs. Luckily he had tidied up the kitchen earlier.

"Hi Pete." He said in a somewhat flustered manner. His thoughts were miles away.

"You ok? You look a little flushed." Pete looked closely at him.

"Must be all that cooking! Lois tends to get a little ambitious and carried away." He told his friend. "What can I do for you?"

"I am here for some advice. I know what you are going to say…that I have only just met her. I want to ask Lois out on a date. She is hot." Pete announced.

"You can't." Clark said nervously. "She has a boyfriend."

"Who…Well I don't see him around. I thought there is no harm in asking. I just wanted to let you know that I am going to make my move tonight." Pete smiled confidently.

Clark managed a smile. "I guess there is not much point in trying to talk you out of it."

Pete shook his head and left. "See you at seven."

Clark knew he should have said something about Lois and him, but he did not know what the current status of their relationship was after what had just happened. He heard the shower still running, and wondered to himself whether there was any chance of an encore.

He headed up and knocked on the bathroom door. "Can I come in?" he asked hopefully.

"Not right now!" Lois said. "I'll be down soon." She sounded distracted.

Lois was stood under the streaming water; her body still throbbing from the events of earlier, desperate for a repeat performance. However her self defence mechanism had kicked in once the realisations of what had happened dawned on her. She was cheating on Kal, and it made her feel guilty.

"Lois, please, let's just talk." He pleaded through the door.

Lois came out, fully dressed this time. "Ok, let's go downstairs."

They sat at the table, looking at each other and trying to work out what each other was thinking.

Clark was the first to start. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Clark, I need time. There is so much going through my head and I need to sort it out before I can talk about what happened. I mean…don't get me wrong…. it was so amazing, but it was kind of sudden. I need time to process it all. " she managed a smile before grabbing his hand to reassure him.

He took a deep breath. "Lois, there is something you need to know which could change everything."

"So, what's going on here? We thought you would be in full party prep mode." Chloe laughed as she and Lana came through the door holding lots of boxes.

"There is more in the car, if you don't mind helping." Chloe ordered.

Clark mouthed. "Later…" to Lois, as he reluctantly got up to help. He wished he could just cancel the whole evening. All he wanted to do was tell Lois everything about him being Kal.

Lois tried to put on her party face, but was having so much difficulty concentrating. She needed to see Kal to see if she could reconcile her feelings for him, and Clark. Things were becoming clearer in her head, and she was gravitating towards the plaid-dressed farmboy, who at this very minute was trying to work out how to open a bottle of wine.

She left the others watching the Scream Trilogy, and she joined him in the kitchen. "Can I help you, Smallville."

"No, it's ok. I can manage." He replied. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"I can't help but think about what happened before. I know I am being unfair to you." She replied gently.

"No, you're not. I know we did not plan for it to happen, but I definitely don't regret it."

"What was that thing you wanted to tell me?" she inquired.

"I will tell you later when everyone goes." He explained.

They went to join the others. "Have I missed anything?" Lois asked.

"Hardly likely when you have seen the movies as many times as you, Lois?" Chloe smirked.

"I suppose you are right."

Lois went to sit next to Pete, who looked suddenly nervous. "Are you ok, Pete?"

He shot a look at Clark, who tried not to react. "No, I'm fine." He stuttered back.

Lana and Chloe were getting very merry from the wine, giggling at the gruesome parts of the movie. Clark looked at Lana; it was great to see her having such a carefree and fun time. He would always look fondly on his relationship with her, but Lois knocked her out of the ballpark. He could not help but worry about her reaction to his other identity. She would freak, no doubt, but he hoped she would forgive him in the end.

Any chance they had of talking was scuppered by the fact Lana and Chloe were too drunk to get home, so they ended up taking the sofas to sleep it off.

"I hope I can get rid of them before my parents get back." He told Pete, as they tidied up.

"Clark, where is Lois?"

"She said something about getting some fresh air." Clark explained.

"I am going to go and ask her out."

"Pete, don't. I would hate to see you disappointed. She is serious about this guy she is seeing." Clark tried to talk him out of it.

"How would you know?" his friend asked, but he didn't need to wait for an answer. "You and her?"

Clark nodded.  
>"Since when?"<p>

"It's complicated!"

"How complicated?" Pete asked with a smirk on his face.

"I will tell you tomorrow." Clark promised.

"I am going into Metropolis tomorrow to buy some plaid outfits. I want to be as popular as you – first Lana, now Lois…. and of course Chloe is in love with you."

"You should ask Chloe out! You two get on so well." Clark commented.

He looked across at the heap on one of the sofas. "It had crossed my mind but I am worried I lose her as a friend."

"Just go for it!" Clark egged him on.

"Like you did with Lois?" he smiled back.

"Yeah something like that."

"Why don't you go and see Lois outside?" Pete asked.

Clark grinned. "I think I will."

Clark headed out to see Lois. He could see her in the distance leaning against one of the paddock fences staring into space.

"Lois, have my jacket!" he said as he approached her.

She turned to see him taking off his coat. "Thanks, Smallville." She smiled, grateful for something to keep her warm.

"What's happening?"

"Well, apart from Lana and Chloe both being passed out on the sofa, not much…" he grinned. "Looks like they will be staying the night."

"I guess so."

"Can we talk?" he asked hopefully.

"Clark, I am sorry…but I need to see Kal before we move forward."

"So there is a future for us?" he asked excitedly.

"I am so conflicted. My heart is saying 100% yes, but there is this undeniable bond between Kal and me, and I cannot get that out of my head."

Clark could see he was torturing her by keeping up the pretence. "Lois, can we go over to the barn and talk?"

"Clark…" Pete came out with a worried look on his face. "Can we talk a moment? I am sorry to disturb you both."

He could see Pete looked devastated about something. "Lois, can I meet you over at the barn?"

She nodded and headed over to the loft.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked when Lois was out of earshot.

"It's Michael. He has been caught up in a drive by shooting in Omaha. He is in a bad way. Mom was with him when he got shot. All my other brothers are out of town, and I don't have a car." He announced, panic evident in his voice.

"Even if you had a car, you are over the limit. I will run you up."

"It won't Clark… my mom knows I am in Smallville. Could you drive me up there?" he asked.

Clark placed his hand on Pete's shoulders. "Of course, I can. Can I just tell Lois where I am going?"

"Yeah… I will go and grab my stuff."

Lois was waiting patiently for him to come to the barn. She stood up when she saw him. "Is Pete ok?" she asked concerned.

"No, his brother has been shot and is in ICU in Omaha. He has no way of getting up there, and he has drunk too much alcohol. I just need to take him there. I should be back some time tomorrow afternoon. Could you tell my parents where I am?"

"No problem. I hope his brother is ok. What time are your parents due back?"

"About 12pm. I will have my cell, if they want to call me when they get back. Thanks for being understanding." He kissed her gently on the lips. "I promise to tell you everything when I return."

"Ok…looks like I will have my hands full looking after my cousin and your ex-girlfriend anyway."

Clark smiled, and headed off to meet Pete at the truck. Lois followed to wave them off.

Pete and Clark were soon on their way on the six hour journey to Omaha. "So Clark, tell me about you and Lois?"

"Ok, I suppose we do have plenty of time to talk. Basically I met her when I was under the influence of Red K in the summer in Metropolis."

Pete smirked. "I guess I do not need to know anymore."

"No, it's nothing like that. I actually kidnapped her." He said, as he told Pete the whole charade.

When he had finished the story, Pete just looked at him. "God Clark, you are dating her as two different people. Don't you think you should tell her?"

"I have been trying but we keep getting disturbed."

At about 12pm, Clark felt something vibrate in his pocket. He took out the cell, he used as Kal. It was Lois.

_Kal, can we talk tonight? There are some things we need to discuss. I will be waiting. Lois._

Clark read the message.

"Who is it?" Pete asked, concerned by the look on his friend's face.

"It's Lois. She wants to meet me… as Kal. I will text her and tell her I cannot make it."

"Look Clark… I need a coffee to keep me awake. Let's stop at this gas station coming up and you can go and see her."

"Ok…" Clark smiled, but then his mood changed. "What do I say to her, Pete?"

"You're the Casanova. That is for you to decide. You could tell her the truth."

"No, I can't. I want to tell her as the real me, so I can defend my actions, and tell her why I did it." Clark seemed confused.

"You'll know what to say to her when you see her."

Clark headed back to Smallville, picked Lois up and headed to their usual meeting place at Crater Lake.

"Hi Lois." He said as cheerily as he could sound.

"Kal…" she replied, puzzled why he was not making a move on her.

"What can I do for you?"

"That sounds very business-like!"

"I am just assuming you have come to finish things between us." Clark could not work out what he was thinking when he made that comment.

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

"I know about your new boyfriend, and I accept that we are over." He said, realising he could not stay for long.

"And that's it, is it?" she said. "We are over as easy as that."

"Well you have chosen someone else, and I respect that." He sounded distracted.

"Take me back!"

He picked her up and took her back.

"How did it go?" Pete asked Clark on his return.

"I think I have just made things more complicated than they were. Have you ever wished you shouldn't have said something." Clark gulped nervously.

Lois got into bed, her heart was pounding. She could not get the idea out of her head. Kal had obviously been watching her and Clark, otherwise how would he know about their relationship. What worried her was his apparent coldness towards her. He was acting like he had when he had taken her hostage. There is no way he would just accept her and Clark. What was he capable of?


	10. Chapter 10

Lois did not sleep well that night, a combination of the thoughts about Kal's revenge and the fact Chloe had spent half the night with her head down the toilet.

The situation was made worse by the fact that she had no one to talk to about her concerns. The one person she trusted was probably 300 hundred miles north east of Smallville by now, and although she could call him, she did not want to bother him.

In some ways, she wished that Lana and Chloe would have stayed a bit longer, but as soon as Chloe felt up to it, they sheepishly excused themselves from the Kent farm, totally embarrassed by their inability to hold their drink.

Lois had managed to calm herself down by mid-morning, telling herself that Kal was not like that, but then the calls began. Her cell rang every 30 minutes with a unknown caller message coming up on the display, and when she answered the caller hung up. She sat at the table, all sorts of thoughts running through her head, her hands shaking….

Suddenly the door flung open…

Lois panicked, as she turned around to see who it was .

"Hi Lois!" Martha announced cheerily as she came through the door.

"Martha! How was it?" she asked, determined she would not give the game away about Kal.

"It was great." She smiled, just as Jonathan came in carrying some bags.

"Hi Lois." he announced.

Martha looked around the house. "Where is Clark?"

"He is not here. It is a long story!" Lois replied. "Basically he is in Omaha with Pete. Pete's brother Michael was shot and he is not doing well. Pete had no way of getting up there so Clark took him."

Jonathan was concerned. "God, I hope his brother is ok? Did Clark say when he would be back?"

"Sometime later this afternoon! I have not heard from him. I would assume he is on his way back." She smiled looking forward to his return, not that he could do anything against Kal with his powers.

Lois was busying making them a cup of tea when her cell went. She almost dropped the kettle until she noticed it was Clark calling.

"Clark…How is Michael?" she asked.

"He is doing ok! He is still in a serious condition but is stable." He replied.

"You must be on your way back, are you?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I have not left yet. I told Pete I would hang around until later this afternoon. I should be back by midnight. Can you tell mom and dad when they get back?"

"They are back now."

"Can you put one of them on? Lo, I will see you later to talk. If you are still awake when I get home, I will be in the barn." He announced.

"See you soon." She said, unable to say anything about Kal because Martha had appeared from the living room when she heard it was Clark.

Lois gave the phone to his mom.

Later, Lois sat watching TV with the Kent's. The local news was on.

We have some breaking news. One of Metropolis's most notorious crime bosses, Morgan Edge has been found dead in his cell in Granville Penitentiary. He was found this morning during a routine round by prison guards. His cause of death is still not known, but foul play is suspected. Sources have said that on hearing the news, his brother Tom has vowed revenge on the person who was responsible, not only for his death but also for turning him into the police in the first place. There has never been an explanation given about how Morgan Edge ended up outside the Metropolis Police Department last month.

Lois suddenly looked nervous. She looked across at the Kents to see if they had noticed her reaction, but there was silence between them.

"He will not be missed!" Martha said. Jonathan nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, there was a bang from outside….

Lois screamed, and recoiled in horror at the sound.

"Lois, are you ok? It was probably just a car backfiring on the road." Jonathan said as he went to look out of the door.

It did not matter to Lois. The floodgates had been opened, and the tears poured down her face.

Martha went to sit next to her. She hugged her tightly. "Lois, what's wrong?"

Lois pulled back and looked at her. "I am so sorry. I did not mean for this to happen."

"What to happen?" Jonathan joined in with his concern.

"I think I am being stalked by an old boyfriend, and I think he may be watching my every move. I did not want you to be dragged into this." Lois sobbed.

"Lois, calm down, and tell us the story from the beginning." Martha rubbed her arm.

"I met… a man a few months back in Metropolis, and I fell for him."

"Is this the one your father told us about?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes… there was a connection between us, and things happened. "

"Have you been seeing him since you have moved in here?" he asked her.

"Yeah just a few times. I am sorry I have been creeping around behind your back. Anyway last night, I told him that I wanted to end it. He said he knew I had been seeing someone else and he accepted it was over." She explained.

"So maybe he has accepted it. Why do you think he is after you?" Martha asked.

"It was the way he was last night. He was cold towards me, and more or less implied that he had been watching me." Lois admitted.

"Lois, we can't take any chances. I will call the sheriff. What's his name?" Jonathan asked as he picked up the handset.

"I don't know his name." she exclaimed.

Jonathan looked puzzled. "Ok… well what does he look like?"

She looked embarrassed. "I have never seen his face." She sobbed.

Martha held her. "How have you not seen his face?"

"He took me hostage, and for some inexplicable reason, I developed feelings for him. " Lois continued.

Jonathan started to look worried. "He sounds unpredictable. We still need to tell the sheriff. Do you have any clue as to who he could be?"

"I do know he was working for Morgan Edge, and he goes by the nickname of Kal."

Jonathan almost dropped the handset. He shot a look across the room at Martha who had exactly the same look of disbelief on her face…

"You are really worried. I can tell by your faces. I am so sorry." She pleaded with them. "There is something else you both need to know."

Jonathan and Martha were still trying to recompose themselves after their shock. "We are not angry, Lois. You can tell us anything?" she said.

"Kal is powerful. He has different powers and seems invincible. He was the bank robber who took out all those police cars in Metropolis last month. He claimed he did not mean to hurt anyone and something told me he was telling the truth."

Jonathan really needed to get some time alone with his wife to discuss a game-plan. Lois had obviously fallen for their son when he was in Metropolis under the influence of Red K.

"So did he hurt you in Metropolis?" Martha asked trying to calm her down a little.

"No, he didn't. I never thought he would. He seemed so confused and lost. He only agreed to kidnap me for the money and as soon as we noticed the connection between us, he left and took Morgan Edge down to the police station." She explained.

Clark had not told his parents much about his time in Metropolis, although he did tell them that he had turned Edge in.

Martha put her arm around Lois to comfort her. "It is not your fault. You can't help who you fall for. I mean look who I fell for." She announced, looking at her husband who had managed to laugh.

"I need to warn, Clark. What happens if Kal goes after him?" Lois dropped yet another bombshell, getting up to fetch her phone.

"What has Clark got to do with this?" Jonathan asked without stating the obvious.

"We are seeing each other." She announced proudly. "He is so kind, considerate and loving." She went red after thinking of that last word. "I need to talk to him about Kal. I cannot bear to see him being hurt."

"What does Clark say about your relationship with Kal?" Martha asked in a way, which would not turn about to be a lie when the truth came out.

"He has been covering for me, and arranged some of my meetings with him. I am sure he is jealous but he seems to be hiding it well."

"I bet he is." Jonathan whispered under his breath. Clark had some serious explaining to do.

"I am not getting Clark into trouble, am I?" Lois was worried about the angry look on his father's face.

"We promise to go easy on him." Martha replied. "So, did Kal say what he was running away from?"

"He blamed himself for his mom losing her baby, and hated all the pain he had caused them over the years. He just wanted to run away from it all."

"I am sure his parents love him." Martha said with a little tear in her eye.

"They sounded like great parents from what he told me. I can imagine they would be a lot like you. I think he liked having me to confide in. " Lois explained.

Lois could see the looks between his parents. "Look, I am going to bed for an hour. I think you two may find it easier to talk without me here and I am sure you have plenty to discuss."

"Thanks, Lois. You look tired. Maybe a sleep would do you good." Martha added.

Lois took her Whitesnake cushion and went up to Clark's room.

She lay on the bed, and wondered what was being talked about downstairs. Part of her felt guilty betraying Kal's secret but she knew that she had no choice if there was any risk of Kal planning retaliation. She knew the Kent's would not tell anyone about Kal unless it was completely necessary.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Jonathan started. "Clark had better have a good explanation for this when he gets back. He cannot mess with her head like that."

Martha offered a voice of reason. "I think we need to hear his side of the story and to give him a chance to explain. Do you know what I think…Clark came home because Lois talked him into it. There is something very special about her."

"So what do we do? I mean we can't let her think she is being stalked by some crazed psycho. You can see the guilt is tearing her apart. What amazes me is how accepting she is about Clark's powers. It does not seem to faze her or change her feelings towards him."

"What I think we need to do is wait for Clark to come back so we can find out how he feels about Lois and why he has been screwing with her head." Martha commented.

"Ok… but what about Lois? Are we going to let her suffer for another 12 hours? We cannot lie to her…the damage is already done and she is going to find out the truth anyway. I would not normally agree with telling someone Clark's secret, but the horse has already bolted, so to speak." He explained.

"Let's tell her then. She needs to know. We can wait until she wakes up." Martha said not realising that Lois had come back down the stairs to get a drink of water.

"Tell me what?" she stood there waiting to be sent back to her father, because of all the trouble she had caused.

"Lois, sit down. We need to tell you something…" Martha said gently.

"Ok, Mrs K. Hit me with it. I can be packed and out of your hair by this afternoon."

"Lois, you are not going anywhere. We love having you around, but we have an admission to make. We should really wait for Clark to get back but we are not willing…"

Suddenly, the door opened and in walked an unfamiliar man. "Lois Lane…just the person I need to talk to."

He had a gun pointing in his hand, as well as some kind of device strapped to his body. He continued "You know who put my brother in jail and I want to know who he is?"


	11. Chapter 11

The three of them froze unaware of the man's intentions. All they knew was that this was Morgan Edge's brother hell-bent on carrying out the revenge he promised and he was in complete control as he had the gun.

"Sit back down." He instructed the three of them. "If you want to live, you will do as I tell you."

"What do you want?" Jonathan asked, trying to hide his anxiety.

"Ms Lane is the only person who knows the identity of the person who betrayed my brother." Tom announced angrily. "I am not going to stop until he is dead."

"Why don't you just ask some of Edge's henchman? I am sure they know who he is." Jonathan commented.

"Even Morgan did not know the identity of the person. He never worked out where he had appeared from. Any way enough with the questions! Just a name will do."

"He kidnapped me so why would I know his name. He wore a balaclava and held me hostage in a pitch black room so I have no clue who he is." She replied honestly.

"I don't believe that for one minute."

"Well I can't help it if you don't. It is the truth." She repeated.

"Ok, let's discuss why your kidnapper let you go, and then proceeded to turn in my brother to the police. Why would he do that?"

"Maybe he had a conscience, after all. He did not discuss why he turned his back on Edge." She continued her defence.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked pointing at the device attached to his body.

"No…" Lois replied.

"It is a bomb, and if I release this trigger here, it will go off and take out this farm and most of the neighbouring properties. So do not get any ideas about trying to be brave." He sneered.

"You have a gun, do you really think we would try and take you out." Lois fired at him.

"You are a feisty one, aren't you?" The man walked towards Martha. "Maybe if I killed this pretty lady here you would lose some of that feistiness."

Lois panicked. "Don't…please."

He smiled at her. "That's better. Listen, since I am in no hurry. I am going to give you some time to discuss matters between yourselves. Mr and Mrs Kent, you may be able to talk some sense into your houseguest. Your lives could depend on it."

He walked through to the kitchen whilst keeping the three of them in sight.

"What do we do now?" Lois asked. "I do not know who Kal is."

"We just need to try and keep him talking." Martha said.

"Wait a moment… Trust me on this one." Jonathan whispered. "Do you have Kal's number on your cell?"

"Yeah I do…. Why?" Lois asked, puzzled.

"Dial it, and just leave the phone in your pocket." He replied.

She took her cell out and discreetly dialled his number…

….

An hour earlier in Omaha, Clark had decided to head back on the journey to Smallville. He wanted to talk to Lois and needed to be back before 10pm, as she would most likely be in bed later.

"Do you mind, Pete?" he asked.

"No, it looks like Michael is out of danger. You go back. Good luck with your conversation with Lois. You'll need it." He laughed.

"I guess so, but I deserve everything she throws at me." Clark replied, not wanting to admit how much he was dreading talking to her. He would probably lose her and he could not stand the thought of that.

"You did not set out to hurt her, Clark. I think she will see that. If anything it makes her life easier as she does not have to choose between you and Kal."

"I have the next six hours to work out my speech. I wish I could speed back and talk to her now, but I don't want to freak her out."

"And I don't think your folks would be too impressed if their SUV was left in Omaha."

"I suppose not! Anyway I will head off. Tell your brother I was asking after him when he wakes up."

"I will…" Pete hugged Clark. "See you in a few days."

Clark climbed in the truck and started the long trip back. He reckoned he could make it for 8pm if the traffic on the interstate was not too bad.

He wondered if he should tell his parents about what had happened but he dreaded to think about the lecture he would get off them.

An hour into his trip, he heard his 'Kal' cell ring. It must have been Lois wanting to speak to him. He was just passing a truck stop so he pulled up, and answered it. He waited for her to talk, but there was silence apart from background conversation. He wondered if she pressed the redial button by sitting on it, so he focused on what was being said.

Tom came back through after a few moments.

"Ok, I hope your memory is starting to come back, Ms Lane. Who is he?"

Clark heard an unfamiliar threatening voice. He was about to speed back to Smallville.

"Don't be rash, son. Give it time." Jonathan announced, hoping Clark would pick up on his message.

Clark knew exactly who his father had made that comment for.

Tom was becoming impatient. "Ms Lane. I do not have all day. " he looked at his watch. "Ok, you have 30 minutes before Mrs Kent takes her last breath."

"Are you going to shoot me, or blow me up?" Martha announced trying to give Clark some more information about the situation.

"A bullet to the head will usually do it." Tom replied coldly.

Clark felt his anger rise. No-one threatened his family like that.

"Ok…maybe it's time….for Lois to have a good think about his name." Jonathan announced calmly.

Lois nodded, convinced this was some sort of message for Kal, but would he come to their rescue. She hoped he would.

Just then there was a sound of someone whistling approaching the door. Tom stood to one side so the approaching person could not see him when he entered.

The door opened…..

"Clark…" Martha cried out. "Watch out."

But before he could react, he felt the butt of a gun on his head. He fell to the floor….

Lois panicked and tried to get up to see how he was.

"You bastard…why did you do it?" she screamed at Tom. "Leave him out of this."

"Sit down now. Who is it?" Tom asked, as he looked at the man on the floor. "I think I might shoot him…but then again, you seem to react to seeing him get hurt, so he could come in useful."

"He is our son, Clark." Martha had tears streaming down her face.

Clark lay still for a few minutes, taking in the conversation, then he let out a groan and stirred. He started to stand up, but then looked up to see the barrel of a gun staring him right in the face.

"Get up slowly." Tom ordered.

Clark staggered to his feet, keeping hold of his head to keep up the pretence of an injury. He sat down next to Lois.

She hugged him tightly, but could not help being curious as to why he had lied about still being at the hospital with Pete. They could discuss that later.

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

"I will have a massive lump in the morning. " He managed a smile.

Lois thought out about her cell. It was obvious that Kal was not coming to their rescue. Maybe she had overestimated him. She knew the moment she saw Clark come in the door, where her heart lay.

"I love you!" she whispered in his ear.

Clark's heart skipped a beat on hearing that. He wanted to take out this man and knew he could in a split second, but it was too dangerous to display his powers in front of this mad man.

"You know what. I think I have had a change of heart. Mrs Kent, you are safe for the time being. I think Clark can take your place. Ms Lane… 24 minutes and counting…tick..tock. " He said looking at his watch, leaving the room again.

Lois looked at Clark and his parents. "I think I am just going to have to come up with a name. That could delay things."

Jonathan looked at Clark. "What do you think? It is too risky to act."

"Let's wait to see if he will start to carry through on his threat." Clark said calmly, no sign of concern on his face at all.

Meanwhile Lois was anything but calm. "Clark, do you have a death wish? If you hadn't noticed he has a gun and a bomb."

"Don't worry about those!" he replied, as if they were just a minor inconvenience.

"Are you on drugs or something?"

"No, I'm not. Just trust me! It will all become clear." he replied, kissing her. He had already realised his parents must know everything about his relationship with Lois.

Tom came back through. "Does your boyfriend know what went on between you and this kidnapper of yours?" Tom announced trying to stir things.

"I think you must have agreed to do some favors for him to agree to let you go." He continued.

"She is not that sort of girl." Clark defended her reputation. He was getting bored with this man's tirade. "Maybe he saw what a crazy psychopath your brother actually was. Let's face it, his murder is no loss to society."

Lois could not believe what she was hearing. Clark was goading a man with a bomb and a gun. Even so, she trusted him but she was not sure why she should.

Jonathan continued the attack. "Your brother is responsible for the deaths of so many people. All those drugs he sold. Lois, tell me who the man is, so I can shake his hand and congratulate him for taking Morgan Edge out of circulation."

Tom snapped, and headed towards Lois with his gun. Clark jumped up and formed a shield in front of her. "Ok, if I must." Tom shouted. He pulled the trigger.

Lois screamed at the sound of the gunshot and closed her eyes, not wanting to see Clark lying in a pool of blood.

Then suddenly she heard Tom's shock. "What the hell, are you?"

Clark smiled. "The man you are looking for."

Lois opened her eyes to see a massive smile on Clark's face. "You want to know who turned your brother in… you are looking at him."  
>Tom realised he was telling the truth. "Perfect…. You are going to go down for it."<p>

"Come on…take me out." Clark replied smugly.

He fired a whole round into Clark's chest at point blank range. Lois could not believe what she was hearing and seeing. She knew what this meant, but she was too caught up in the moment of what was happening to work out what the repercussions of the bombshell would be.

Tom smiled. "Well, looks like we will all have to die then." He loosened his grip on the trigger.

Clark took him out with a football tackle, heading out the door at lightning speed until he reached the back paddock. He then fell on top of Tom, taking the full force of the explosion with his body.

Suddenly, Clark appeared from the smoke, totally unharmed although the same could not be said for his clothes. He turned around and extinguished the flames with his breath. There was no sign of any remains of Tom, but his fate was not left in any doubt.

Lois ran up and jumped into his arms. "You have some major explaining to do." She whispered, her anger camouflaged by the relief she felt because their ordeal was over….


	12. Chapter 12

Kal and Clark were the same person. She thought she had fallen in love with both when in fact she had only fallen for two sides of the same person. This should have simplified matters but it only seemed to complicate things in her head.

She was sitting at the table with Clark and his parents. The police were in the paddock investigating what had happened. Not that they ever seemed to find out the truth. They had given up over the years trying to work out what was going on in Smallville due to all the meteor infected events.

"That was a close call." Clark chuckled trying to lighten the mood, but to no avail. He just had to look at his parents and Lois to know he was in trouble.

"Right, who wants to go first?" Martha tried to get things going. "Clark?"

"Maybe Lois should start." Clark offered nervously. She looked unimpressed.

Lois stood up. "This is a family matter. I am going to see Chloe to let her know what is happening. She has texted to say she was a bit shocked to be stopped at a roadblock a mile or so up the road."

She grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, leaving Clark and his parents looking at one another.

"She is upset…I am going to go after her."

"Don't you think you have stressed her out enough?" His dad lectured.

"I was going to explain what had happened and why I did not tell her I was Kal. I got distracted with Pete and his brother."

"Clark, she has spent the last day thinking she had some crazed ex-boyfriend on her tail." His father continued.

"What made her think that?" he asked, feeling guilty.

"Well, she said you met her last night, as Kal, and that you seemed cold towards her. She thought you were stalking her because you knew about her new relationship. She was in a right state by the time we got home." Martha explained.

"I did not know, otherwise I would have come back to explain. I would never hurt her. I love her too much." He replied sincerely.

"Isn't that what you said about Lana a few months back?" Jonathan pointed out.

"I did, but this is different. I am grown up now, and know what love is. My feelings for Lana were nothing but infatuation….not love. I know that now."

His dad could not let things lie. "How grown up is it to kidnap someone?"

"Whatever I say to defend myself, you are going to give me a hard time aren't you?"

His mom smiled. "No, Clark. We are just trying to get to the bottom of you and Lois. We need to know how serious it is? It could affect the living arrangements."

"You're not going to throw her out, are you? I promise we will respect your rules and not creep around."

Jonathan nodded at him. "You are darn right that there will be no creeping going on under our roof. And no, we are not going to make Lois leave. We like having her around. But you need to remember you are only 17 years old and have your whole life ahead of you."  
>Martha looked at Clark. "I think what your father is trying to say is that we don't have a problem with you and Lois dating, as long as your school work does not suffer and you do not let your feelings get carried away."<p>

Clark did not have the heart to tell them that it was a bit late for that talk. "I promise to put 200% in my study. Anyway all of this may be irrelevant considering the cold shoulder Lois is giving me at the moment. I don't think I am top of her list of suitable boyfriends at the moment."

"Give her time to deal with what has happened and I think she will forgive you." Martha offered.

There was a knock at the door. Jonathan could make out the outline of the sheriff.

His dad whispered so no-one could hear. "You are supposed to be hundreds of miles from here. I may have problems explaining your presence to the police. Clark, why don't you go and pick the truck up. Maybe Lois wants to go with you."

Clark smiled and sped out the back.

Sheriff Adams smiled as Jonathan opened the door. "Mr Kent, can I come in?" she asked.

"Yes of course, Sheriff." Jonathan said.

Clark smiled. The truck was over five hours drive away, making it the perfect opportunity for him and Lois to talk without interruptions. He just had to convince her to come with him and rescue her from the clutches of Chloe and her insatiable need for gossip.

Meanwhile, at the Talon Chloe was grilling Lois about the lowdown on the kidnapping at the Farm. Luckily she and the Kent's had managed to get their stories straight before the police had arrived at the farm.

"God, that must have been so stressful." Chloe replied with concern.

"How are you feeling?" she looked at her cousin's bloodshot eyes and washed out look on her face.

"God, I have a thumping headache." Chloe moaned, holding her head in her hands.

Lois's phone bleeped. She looked at her message.

_Going to get truck. Will have quiet 5hr drive home, unless of course you want to join me. If you do, wait out in the back alley in the next five minutes. Clark xxx_

Lois felt butterflies in her stomach. However hard she tried to be mad at him, her attraction to Clark was undeniable. She convinced Chloe to go to bed for a sleep to get rid of her hangover.

She headed out back to the alley behind the Talon. Seconds later, she was on her way to Nebraska….

Clark hoped a bit of chivalry may help his cause of trying to get back into her good books, but Lois was having none of it.

"I can open my own door." She replied in a sarcastic tone. "Don't think being all nicey nice will make any difference. You have some major explaining to do, and guess what we have five hours for you to come up with your best excuses."

"Excuses!" he announced as he climbed in the driver's seat and started off down the interstate towards Kansas. "Lois, I am done with excuses. I will tell you the truth."

"Well this should be good. I am all ears." She stared at him, waiting for him to start.

"Where should I start?"

"How about right at the very beginning!" She suggested.

"Ok…." He took a deep breath. "In 1989, a meteor shower hit Smallville…"

Lois interrupted him. "Clark…I do not need a history lesson on my new home. I can go down the library and read about that."

He turned to her. "If you shut up, I'll continue… So back in 1989."

"I'm sorry. Go on…" she smiled.

"The meteors hit Smallville. They were fragments left over from a planet called Krypton. The planet was destroyed by its own people in a civil war."

"Chloe never told me they had found out the cause of the shower. So how many people died on this planet?" Lois looked puzzled.

"All but one! There was a baby sent out into space just before the planet exploded. The power of the explosion carried the spaceship hurtling towards Earth. It had a young Kryptonian on board. When the meteors hit Smallville, so did the spaceship."

"Do you know this alien? It's Pete, isn' it." She asked.

"No, someone a bit closer to home."

"Not Lana.." she tried again.

"No…you're getting warmer." He smirked.

She was about to offer another answer when she saw the look of amusement on his face. "Not you…" she said with her mouth gaping open.

"Yeah. I landed in a cornfield and was found by my adoptive parents."

"So all the stuff you told me the cellar at the museum was true." She announced, shocked by the bombshell. She had expected a complicated story but this had blown away all of her expectations.

"Yes it was. I did not lie to you in the cellar, except about who I really was." He replied.

"So that is how you have your powers." She confirmed.

"Yes, I get my powers from the Earth's sun."

"So why go by a false name?" she asked.

"You remember the red ring. It is made from a red form of meteor rock which came to Earth with me. It makes me lose my emotional side, and I take on a persona. Kal-el is my kryptonian name , so I just go by Kal when I am under the effects of the rock."

"I don't get it. You did show some emotions when you had the ring on."

He smiled at her. "That is the first time I ever have. It must be the strength of feelings I have for you."

Her attempts at being pissed at him almost disintegrated after that comment, but then she regained her composure. "So you are not a nice person when there is red rock around."

"Not really. I am not going to lie. The rock does not turn me into a different person. Kal is still part of me but without the feelings."

"Why did you kiss me in the cellar?"

"I was drawn to you, and that is the reason I wanted to continue to see you as Kal."

"So where does Clark Kent come into all this?" she asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"I did not know you were at Fort Ryan until Chloe told me. Maybe it was fate…who knows. Once I met you again, and saw how unhappy you were living with your dad at the base, I knew I had to get you to Smallville."

"So you wanted me living at the farm so you could have your wicked way with me."

"No, of course not… that was just a bonus." He smiled as he attempted to make a joke.

She gave him a look which told him that his idea had fallen flat. "So why didn't you tell me when I arrived in Smallville. You continued to meet up with me as two people and you played with my emotions." She was upset.

"I was trying to tell you before we got news of Pete's brother and I was all set to tell you when I got back in town, until that mad man tried to blow us all up."

"It still hurts. Do you know how I felt being in love with two different people?"

"I can imagine it was hard. Does it not make it easier knowing that I am Kal?"

"You would think it would." She replied honestly. "But it seems to make things harder to get my head around. I loved Kal even though I didn't know him, but then meeting you…as Clark Kent, you just blew me away."

"So the question is, do we have a future together?" He cut to the chase, his eyes begging with her to give him the answer he wanted.

"I don't know. Are you sure your feelings for me are the real thing? " She put the ball in her court.

"I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. I look into your eyes, and all I see is love and acceptance. Do you realise that you have hardly reacted to my announcement that I am not human. Most people would not be able to see past that! You are special, Lois. There will never be anyone else for me." He replied with such sincerity.

"How can you say that? We have only known each other for weeks." She explained.

"I guess you are having second thoughts." He replied, hearing doubt in her voice.

"Clark, I feel exactly the same way, but I have been hurt in the past, and I can't go through that again."

Clark stopped the truck. "Lois, I am not Wes." He started to rub away the tears which were starting to make their way down her face. "I promise I will never do anything to hurt you. I love you too much." He leaned over and gently brushed his lips against hers.

She reciprocated, kissing him back with such ferocious passion. "Can you get us out of here?" she groaned against his lips.

It was only after they were lying in bed after their mammoth workout session that Lois looked around to see where they were. It was a very small, but modern apartment. There were definitely 100% male overtones to it with the black silk sheets, and the lingering smell of old aftershave.

She looked over at him. "Where are we?"

"Metropolis!" he replied.

"Did you borrow this apartment off a friend?" she asked, convinced he had.

"No, it is my apartment. Well, should I say Kal's." he smiled at her. "I paid six month's rent upfront when I arrived here in the Summer."

"Should you not get rid of it? Someone might find out you are here."

"No one knows I lived here. I paid cash to the owner, and he lives in the Bahama's. He has not been back to visit for years."

"I take it Kal picked your décor because if you had I would expect plaid sheets with a hint of musk aftershave…not black silk sheets with a hint of Calvin Klein." She laughed, but her tone changed. "Did Kal bring all of his girlfriends back here?"

Clark could detect her jealousy. "Lois, you were my first – both as Clark and Kal, and you will be my last."

"Are you trying to tell me after that exhibition, that you have never done that before with anyone else?"

He looked at her. "You make me want to do things which I would never consider with anyone else. I feel free and uninhibited when I am with you. Any way you can talk, you are not exactly shy."

Lois went red. "Does that mean we can come back here anytime we like."

"Yes, at least until the lease runs out in December." He smiled, and reached over to kiss her.

She kissed him quickly and then pulled away. "Clark, your parents are going to wonder where we are if we don't turn up with the truck in the next few hours."

"Shall we fly back to pick it up?" he replied.

"Fly, don't you mean run?" she corrected him.

"Lois, I didn't run here. I flew." He kissed her again gently on the forehead.

"Can we go for a fly before we pick up the truck?"

"I thought you said we did not have time."

"That was before you told me you could fly." She climbed out of bed and started to put her clothes on, obviously full of excitement at the thought of flight.

Ten minutes later, they were soaring over Kansas, way above the clouds. Clark expected Lois to look panicky at being so high up, but she looked so relaxed.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"I thought I would be, but oddly I am not. This is amazing, just like you.." she kissed him, making him go off course.

He laughed. "I guess I need a GPS for next time I fly. Keep an eye out for the truck."

Eventually they found it. They landed in a small clearing where no one would see them, and walked the few hundred yards to the truck.

"How long until we are back?" she asked.

"About four hours. We did not get very far before we got distracted." He grinned as he looked at her.

She pointed at the road ahead. "Well Smallville, I suggest you concentrate on the road and get us home before your folks send out a search party."

Hours later, they entered Smallville. "Lo, I still don't have your answer as to whether you forgive me."

"Clark, if we can have a repeat performance of a few hours ago some time soon, I promise to forgive you." She laughed.

"So you are just with me for that, are you?" he joked.

"No, I have to admit your plaid fetish is quite an attraction as well. So are you going to be my buddy at school tomorrow?"

"I will see what I can do." He said, as they pulled up the driveway.

They walked in the house, and waited for the barrage of questions.

His mom was waiting for them. "Finally….it is almost 10pm. I thought you would have been home hours ago."

"Sorry mom. We just got talking." Clark replied, not sure if that was a lie or not.

"It's ok, but I think you should both head to bed with it being Lois's first day at Smallville High tomorrow. Clark, can you go and get the bedding for the sofa?"

He smiled, and did as his mom asked.

Martha smiled at Lois. "I take it that you and Clark sorted it out. I am glad he has someone special to share his secret with."

"Thanks..Martha. That means a lot." Lois hugged her, and headed upstairs. She passed Clark on the landing and gave him a brief but passionate kiss. "Goodnight, Smallville. Sleep well."

Clark came back downstairs. "Thanks mom! I thought we would get a lecture."

"You would have done if your father had still been up." His mom replied. "But I don't see how talking would make you drive any slower." She said with a serious look on her face.

"I can explain, mom." He replied with a guilty look on his face.

"I am sure you can…but I would rather you didn't." she smirked, just glad to see her son happy again after the trials and tribulations of the last few months. "Just whatever you do, take care."

Clark went red when he realised what his mom was implying. "We will…mom. I would never hurt Lois again."

"I know that honey…" she touched him on the arm before retiring to bed.

Clark lay on the sofa, listening to Lois sleeping. Soon he fell asleep himself.


	13. Chapter 13

Chloe had promised she wouldn't do it, but maybe it was the inspiring journalist in her that pushed her to discover the truth.

Even though the General had been brushed off by the club owner, saying he had no footage of the back alley that night Lois went AWOL, Chloe had managed to use her cyber-hacking skills to get access to it from the hard drive of the club's computer system. She noticed that no one had viewed the footage so the owner was obviously not bothered what was on it.

She admitted to herself that her mission to discover the identity of Lois's mystery boyfriend was probably partly driven by jealous. Whoever this man was had stopped her cousin spending time with her for the last few months of school. Lois was besotted, and what worried Chloe was that she insisted he was kept hidden. Chloe knew he was probably married or something and she did not want Lois to be hurt.

She started the video and at first saw nothing but the odd couple heading down the back alley to make out, then nothing. She fast forwarded a few minutes and then noticed a woman heading with determination down the back alley. It was Lois, and Chloe realised she would be trying to find a back way in. Suddenly, some caught her eye in the corner of the screen; she zoomed in on the area to try and make it clearer. She could see a man, wearing a balaclava, appear from the far end of the alley.

Lois had clearly not seen him, and continued looking for a door. Eventually she turned around and headed back to the alley. Although this had already happened and her cousin was ok, Chloe could feel her heart pounding, willing her to get away from this stranger. Lois walked slowly, and then the man pounced covering her head with a hood, making her collapse in a heap. What Chloe saw next worried her more – the man scooped Lois up and blurred off into the distance, so fast that one second they were there, the next they weren't.

Chloe turned it off, and made sure she wiped it off the club's security system but she kept a copy for herself. She sat back in the chair, and thought about what this meant. Lois was kidnapped by some meteor infected super-powered stranger, held against her will in the dark basement and then somehow inexplicably she fell in love with him.

Suddenly something crossed her mind and she searched the Daily Planet database and brought up the photo from the bank robbery where one of the robbers had taken out half of the Met PD fleet of cars. It was a miracle that no-one had been hurt. She looked at the hooded figure and just knew it was too much a coincidence, and that they were one and the same person.

The decision she had to make was whether she should confront Lois or track down this man and hand him into police.

Lois lay in Clark's apartment cuddled up to him, like she had every afternoon after school, and even more often on weekends. She could not get enough of him, and the feeling was mutual.

"Lo, have you noticed anything being up with Chloe at the moment?" Clark asked. "She has been so pre-occupied lately like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders."

"Yeah I noticed that too. I would say she is feeling a little left out since I am spending all my time with my mystery boyfriend. She seems a little lost since Pete left town. Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe we do spend too much time together. You have to give up the keys to this apartment in next week, so maybe we should get used to not being able to 'get together' whenever we want to."

Clark sighed. "I know you are right, but I love this time together. Maybe it is turning into a bit of an obsession. I am addicted to being with you." He kissed her passionately before rolling on top of her.

Chloe had decided; she was going to confront Lois when she finally made it back to the farm. She texted her and asked her to call by the Talon apartment.

"Hi Lois." She said cheerily as she opened the door.

Lois walked in sheepishly, curious what the invitation was all about. "So Chlo, what did you want to chat about?"

"I just thought we could spend some time catching up as I see so little of you these days."

"Sorry for that! I am going to promise to spend more time in Smallville. I know I have been rude, but all that is going to change."

"You're not having problems with your mystery man, are you?" Chloe asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"No nothing like that." Lois smiled.

"So I know you won't give away much detail, but what attracts you to him?"

"He is so loving and considerate and will do anything for me." Lois replied.

"Does that include kidnapping you?" Chloe asked with a serious tone.

"Chlo, he didn't kidnap me! I thought we had been through this."

"Well, the footage I have from outside Amiro's Club tells a different story, unless one of your fetishes is getting chloroformed and a hood put over your head."

"You investigated me. Why?" Lois asked.

"Because your story never added up and you have never told anyone a thing about him. How could you fall in love with a sadistic bank robber and who knows what else?" Chloe announced with anger in her voice, deciding to leave out the part about his special powers. There was a chance that Lois did not know about them.

"He is not like that Chloe. This is not what you think!" Lois exclaimed in a panic.

"Lois, I am not going to let you throw your life away and endanger yourself for some twisted and misguided love affair. You need to end this now."

"And if I don't?" Lois asked defiantly.

"If you don't put a stop to it, I will." Chloe threatened.

Lois fled back to the farm in a panic, looking for Clark. He had headed to the fruit market with Jonathan. Martha was making dinner.

"Lois, is everything ok? You look like you have seen a ghost."

"Not really. I am really worried that someone is close to discovering Clark's secret."

"Who?" Martha sat down and asked Lois to join her.

"Chloe… she has seen footage of Clark kidnapping me and possibly speeding off, but she does not know it is him."

Martha paused. "Oh… I think we need to think about this. What else did she say?"

"She said she is going to stop me seeing him. I am worried she will tell my father and if he starts to sniff about he will find out. He will be on the first flight back from Seoul, trust me."

"We can't let that happen. Why don't we talk to Jonathan and Clark when they get back?" Martha said calmly.

"Martha, please don't ask us to break up. I couldn't do that." Lois begged.

"Honey, Jonathan and I have been keeping an eye on you and Clark, and even though you seem to spend every waking moment together, your grades have both been excellent this semester. I have never seen my son so happy and settled as he is now. You keep him grounded, and that is all we can ask."

"Thanks Martha. You and Jonathan have been the best 'surrogate' parents I could ever ask for. Let me make you some tea!"

Martha nodded, as Lois wandered over to the kettle. Just then Chloe appeared at the door. Martha looked at Lois and mouthed who it was and that she should go upstairs.

Martha gave her a chance to hide before opening the door. "Is Lois here?"

"No, she is out. Can I do anything for you?"

"It is actually you I wanted to talk to. Lois is making a big mistake and I need you to help me stop her getting deeper." Chloe looked distraught.

"Come in!" Martha said.

"Martha! You know about the man Lois is dating, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"He is a dangerous criminal who kidnapped her. She has fallen in love with him. I have been reading up on the internet and I think it is a case of Stockholm Syndrome."

"I have heard about that, but I am sure you must be wrong."

Chloe looked at Martha. "Don't you think it is funny that she won't let anybody meet him, or even name him?"

Martha remained calm. "We have met him and he is a lovely young man. We often have dinner together." She felt cruel for lying but she needed to protect her son's secret.

"What… Who is he?" Chloe was puzzled by this announcement.

"There must be a reason why Lois has not told you, so I would rather not say."

"But I saw him kidnap her from a back alley. I have proof on my computer."

"How do you know it was Lois?" Martha asked.

"I know it was but I could see it was her. I am not mistaken." Chloe was becoming impatient. "I am going to have to ring the General."

Martha was worried but did not show it. "Look, I will have a word with Lois and her boyfriend and see if you can meet him. That way you will believe me that there is no reason to worry."

Chloe nodded, and left.

Lois appeared. "This is not good is it? I am going to have to tell her that I have broken up with him."

"Wait until the boys get back and we can talk about it."

An hour late, there was a debate going on at the table. "Can we trust her?" Jonathan asked. "This is getting out of hand now."

"I know dad but deep down I am convinced that Chloe has been circling my secret for years. I can see the way she acts around me. If Sam Lane comes to investigate, a lot more damage will be done." Clark explained.

"My father has just given up his witch-hunt. Chloe could easily restart his search for answers. I will go and see Chloe and tell her she can meet him."

"No, Lois. I have a lot of history with Chloe, and it is my decision to make. Let me go and talk to her by myself."

Lois hugged him before she accompanied him out to his truck. "Of course, I understand. Chloe will protect your secret, I know it, although the jealousy of me dating you may be more of an issue."

Clark smiled before he headed off to find his friend. He did not have to look far, she was in the Talon on her laptop.

"Chloe, can we talk?"

"Yeah sure. Is everything ok?" she asked. "Let's go upstairs!"

"No, not here. I have somewhere else in mind. Can I just ask you a question? What is the place you would most like to visit in the world?"

She looked at him and wondered why he had suddenly gone off topic.

"I don't know…why?"

"Just humor me." He smiled reassuringly.

"Ok then…I have always wanted to go to see the Pyramids."

Clark grabbed her hand and led her out back. "Ok, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you."

Chloe did as he asked and felt the ground disappearing from under her feet.

He put her down and expected the interrogation but it never came. He studied her face but she was not giving anything away.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked her.

"Thanks for answering some of my questions. I knew you were meteor infected but not to this extent." Chloe explained.

Clark did not react too surprised. "I should have guessed that nothing would get past you."

Chloe looked along the alley where they had landed and saw loads of tourists and local people bustling past. "It is a bit busy here, can we go somewhere more quieter?"

Clark smiled, picked her up and sped them off to a quiet alpine pasture in the middle of the Swiss Alps.

"My god, this is so amazing. How did you keep this flying trick hidden for so long?"

"I have only just mastered it. So how did you know?"

"Clark, as you know I have been obsessed with the meteor shower for years. Do you really think I would not investigate all those mysterious saves over the years?"  
>"I suppose not, and off the record I was not infected by the meteors. I arrived in it."<p>

"Arrived from where?" Chloe gulped.

Clark pointed up in the sky. "I am from a planet called Krypton. It used to be galaxies from here until it blew up and the meteors which hit Earth were part of it."

"So you're an alien?"

"Basically yes, but before you ask, this is my normal form and I am not some slimy purple monster."

"Clark, give me a little credit, I would never have thought something that ridiculous. I would have asked if you were a green slimy monster." She laughed.

"So I take it that the Kent's found you. They have always been so cagey about your adoption. What powers have you got?"

"I have super-strength, invulnerability, superspeed, x-ray vision and of course flying."

Chloe suddenly had an idea. "Clark, I am so happy you chose to share you secret with me, and it could be the answer I am looking for."

"Do you know Lois was kidnapped in the summer in Metropolis? She is seeing the man who did it and I am worried about her safety. It is very odd, even your parents seem to be protecting this person. I am wondering if he is threatening them."

Clark looked at her. "All parents protect their children!"

Chloe took a few seconds to process what he was trying to tell her. "What do you mean?"

"I am the person who took Lois and robbed the bank in Metropolis. I was exposed to red meteor rock which makes me act differently."

"You mean you kidnapped her and held her hostage. Are you too dating?" Chloe asked with a hint of jealousy.

"Yes we are. I love her, and she feels the same way." He replied with meaning.

"I could guess that by the fact I never see her these days. I bet you spend loads of time flying around the world." There was now anger in her voice.

"I can hear how angry you are Chloe, but I did not reject you to get together with Lois. I would not be with you now, if I had not fallen for Lois. You are one of my best friends, and I would never hurt you."

"You already have! You only told me your secret today to stop me ringing Lois's father. You were forced into it, weren't you? Take me back home!"

"I am not going to argue with you Chloe." He picked her up and took her back to the Talon.  
>Clark left her to calm down. He was certainly not going to pacify Chloe – she would just have to come to terms with his relationship with Lois. Nothing would jeopardise that.<br>Lois and his parents were waiting for him on her return. "Hi, how did it go?"

Clark smiled half-heartedly. "She accepted my secret with no problems but same cannot be said about when it came to telling her about us."

"Clark, she will get over it. Give her some time and space."

"You don't think she will tell Sam, do you?" Jonathan asked.

Clark shook his head. "No matter how pissed Chloe is with me, I trust her completely."

"Ok… let's just wait and see what happens." His father replied.

A few days went by, and there had been no sign of Chloe. Even Lana had been to see Clark to ask what was going on. He told her about his relationship with Lois, and although shocked, she seemed to accept it.

Lois and Clark were sitting in the barn that afternoon when they heard footsteps approaching.

"Hi…" Clark said as he noticed a sheepish looking Chloe climbing the stairs.

"Hi.." she replied quietly. "Clark, can I talk to Lois alone please?"

"Yep, sure." He left them to it.  
>"So, Chloe…how are you doing?" Lois asked.<p>

"I have had time to think about things, and I am trying to get used to you and Clark being together. It took me days to realise it but I know it was never a competition between you and me. Anyway it has to be better than him seeing Lana, the drama was a little too much to bear. I want to see him happy and I can see you make him happy."

"Thanks, Chloe. It means a lot."

"I do still have issues to work out." Chloe replied. "But there is one thing which bothers me."

Lois took a deep breath and waited.

"We never did get that night out in Metropolis. How about it, cuz?"

Lois smiled. "You're on… A girls night out is a fab idea."

"You have to promise me that you will not get kidnapped this time." Chloe said as Clark came to see everything was okay between the cousins and they had not come to blows.

"Don't worry, Chloe. I can tie Lois up some other time." Clark winked. Lois laughed uncomfortably, hoping Clark had not annoyed her with his little quip.

Chloe grimaced. "That is gross and far too much information. I will leave you to it, whatever it is. I will hold you to your promise, Lois."  
>As soon as Chloe left, Lois turned to him. "I'll go and get the rope, shall I?"<p>

THE END


End file.
